Fresh images of the still-secret BMW 4 Series Convertible have surfaced after the Bavarian car-maker lodged a patent application for its new design with the Chinese trademark office.
Discovered by
, the images reveal that designers haven't been tempted to water down the coupe's more vertical, super-sized take on BMW's famous kidney-shaped grille for the convertible version.Clearly showing a switch from the current folding metal hard-top to a traditional fabric roof, the new patent images preview the next 4 Series Convertible's more elegant profile, although the roof itself looks like it will offer the driver limited rear visibility.
The production car is expected to have a larger rear glass window.
Set to be significantly lighter than the current version, the new BMW 4 Series Convertible is based on the German prestige car-maker's CLAR platform that underpins every mainstream BMW model from the 3 Series upwards.
For European markets, the 4 Series will go on sale with three petrol engines and just one diesel.
Mirroring the 3 Series line-up, there’s a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder with either 135kW (420i) or 189kW (430i) and a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel that, thanks to BMW’s 48-volt mild-hybrid tech, produces 140kW (420d) and can average 3.9L/100km.
Top of the BMW 4 Series tree, until the next M4 arrives, is the all-wheel-drive M440i xDrive that comes powered by a 48-volt mild-hybrid 3.0-litre inline turbo-petrol six-cylinder that produces 275kW of power and 500Nm of torque.
Even with the added weight of the roof mechanism and the extra bracing need to boost the drop-top's rigidity, the 4 Series Convertible should still hit 100km/h in less than 5.0 seconds and top out at a limited 250km/h.
All engines come with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and rear-wheel drive (except the AWD M440i), while the M Sport cars have a new ‘Sprint’ launch control feature.
Developed to be best-in-class for its drive, the convertible is set to benefit from the extra chassis development work engineered into the new 4 Series Coupe, including the extra strengthening for the body and suspension mountings, plus the double-jointed front suspension and new five-link rear axle.
BMW is expected to officially unveil the 4 Series Convertible late this year.