[Viffermike]

Since the last Z4 rolled off the production line four days ago, in-the-wild camo shots indicate the car's still undergoing deep real-world testing, and in consideration of BMW's typical timeline at this stage, I figure the Z5 will be a 2018 model announced in late spring/early summer 2017. So the April date mentioned previously isn't a stretch.

This, however, is partially contingent on the launch timeline Toyota has for the Supra. BMW may be somewhat at the mercy of that -- and if history is any indication regarding development partnerships (the latest example: Miata vs. Fiat 124), the Japanese partner almost always gets first dibs with bringing the model to market. This makes sense -- particularly since BMW is outsourcing Z5 production to Magna Steyr, which will need to be outfitted with CFRP capability to produce the car. That will likely take some time.