BMW 4 SERIES CONVERTIBLE revealed with a cloth top and bold snoot
Cue the bunny rabbit emojis, post those pig nose memes. BMW’s new 4 Series convertible is coming! Some already hate it’s big, brave new take on the eternal BMW kidney grille. But it seems secretly, even more folk love it. So maybe Munich is onto something after all.
The new drop-top joins the recently revealed 4 Series Coupé,. But its biggest change is not its big bold snoot. It’s a fabric top, once again. The past two iterations of this car were rather coupé-convertibles. The final 3 Series convertible and the first Four were both blessed with a three-part metal folding top and a glass rear window
It’s Gone Back to a ragtop
Now BMW’s mid-range convertible returns to a fabric top. Like that it’s grandfather E46 last had back in ’07. It’s not the first convertible Beemer to drop its folding steel roof either. The latest Z4 also ditched its lardy CC for a rag. In fact all future open BMWs will be ragtops too.
BMW’s latest ‘flat bow cover’ is said to combine the everyday practicality of a hardtop with the aesthetics of a fabric roof. They promise it has better acoustic and climate comfort properties than conventional soft tops thanks to its multi-layer insulation It has a glass rear window and comes in black or an optional anthracite silver effect. Best of all, it’s 40 percent lighter too.
The convertible benefits a lightweight aluminium bonnet, doors and other panels. But it has also grown and has to meet ‘increased regulatory requirements’ like crash safety, pedestrian protection, exhaust gas cleaning. All that paraphernalia and a 48V mild hybrid counteracts the lighter roof and panels. The 420i and 430i convertibles are still 23-odd kg lighter, but the 420d and all-wheel drive M440i gain weight.
The new soft top brings a 15 litre bigger boot than its predecessor. Still, the car is 128mm longer, rides on a 41 mm stretched wheelbase and is 27 mm wider to accommodate 18 mm wider front and 23 mm wider rear axle tracks.
4 Series Convertible has Five engine choices
There are two 2-litre turbo petrols the 184hp 300Nm 420i good for 8.2 seconds to 100km/h and 236km/h at 6.1 l/100km and the 258hp 400Nm 6l/100km 430i convertible. The 8kW mild hybrid 190 hp 2-litre turbodiesel 420d has claimed 7.6 second 0-100, tops 236 km/h and sips 4.2 litres of diesel per 100km.
The all-wheel drive turbo petrol M440i xDrive also gets an 8kW mild hybrid. That boosts its 374 hp 500 Nm turbo petrol to a 4.9 second 0-100, a speed limited 250km/h and 5.8 l/100km. BMW’s 48-volt mild hybrid system recovers and stores braking energy to power accessory drives and also boost combustion engine under acceleration.
Sharing most of its spec and options with its Coupé brother, model-specific ragtop options include a headrest-mounted neck warmer and a removable wind deflector with its stowage bag.
The new BMW 4 Series convertible is due for international release in the first half of 2021.
