Welcome back BMW. The last Z4 looked like a merger of compromise. It brought together round designs and aggressive cuts that made the car never too cuddly and never too aggressive. It was the girlfriend you went out with not because of how she looked, but because she had a good personality.
Now that’s all changed. There is only one look to this car, and its pure evil. The body now has more better proportioned design, and with the new hard top up, the rear half has a profile that resembles the previous generation Z4 coupe. The most important part is the front. The new Z4 has an intimidating and shark-like look that wants to say, "I have a secret...and that is I could kill you."
The interior has improved slightly. The new Z4 has switched the position of the radio and climate controls from the previous generation, and everything comes closer to looking like the BMW Z8’s interior (without the confusing center-mounted dials.)
The new Z4 comes in two models for North America, both using the same 3.0-liter inline-six cylinder engine. The sDrive30i has 255 hp, and the sDrive35i uses twin-turbos (one turbo designated for three cylinders each) to upgrade to 300 hp. All variants of the new BMW Z4 come as standard with a 6-speed manual gearbox. As an option, the BMW Z4 sDrive35i is available with BMW’s newly developed double-clutch sport automatic gearbox.
The BMW Z4 sDrive35i makes the 0 to to 60 mph sprint in 5.1 seconds with the manual transmission and 5.0 seconds with the seven-speed double clutch sport automatic. The sDrive30i accelerates from a 0 to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds with a manual and 6.0 seconds with the automatic. Both models are limited to a top speed of 130 mph (150 mph with the optional Sport Package).
The new Z4 will be seen in the flesh next month at the Detroit Auto Show, and sales will begin on May 9th.
The Z4 is BMW’s newest roadster, and the German tuner AC Schnitzer have just released the first wheel and tire combination for the future bimmer. The tuners are currently working on performance enhancements, suspension set-ups, interior accessories and aero parts.
It didn’t take long, did it? We present to you the first tuned version of the 2010 BMW Z4 Roadster! The car we spotted features beautiful plus sized Hartge wheels and pair of carbon fiber front splitters at the extremes of the front bumper that accentuate the new bimmers stretched front end.
BMW USA today announced pricing on the 2009 Z4: the base version Z4 sDrive30i has a base price of $46,575, while the sDrive35i starts at $51,650. Of course that’s not the whole story. Anyone who’s ever bought a BMW knows the option list can be long, complicated, and most of all, expensive. So we have the full breakdown after the jump.
Both models are using the same 3.0-liter inline-six cylinder engine. The sDrive30i has 255 hp, and the sDrive35i uses twin-turbos (one turbo designated for three cylinders each) to upgrade to 300 hp. All variants of the new BMW Z4 come as standard with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
The new 2009 BMW Z4 is about to hit the showroom, so for those of you who missed the Z4 promotional stunt, here is how Robin Rhode decided to showcases the new BMW Z4...as a giant paint brush.
According to a BMW spokesman, "Given the current economic crisis there is no business case for a full-on M version of the Z4." He said that BMW will offer a M Sport package that will include a body kit, large alloy wheels, tuned suspension and an M-branded steering wheel. The twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline six engine’s output can also be upgraded to from 300 to 326 hp. That’s not too bad considering the first generation Z4 M’s engine made 338 hp.
As part of their latest marketing campaign, the programmers at BMW have released an interactive application designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch promoting their new Z4 roadster. The BMW will compete with future Porsche Boxsters and Mercedes-Benz SLK convertibles. The app is inspired by BMW’s “An Expression of Joy” campaign and lets you build a Z4 and then drive around on a blank canvas using the Z4’s tires as paintbrushes. There is also a section that elaborates on the history of BMW’s art cars of the past.
The application is available to download on iTunes for free.
We didn’t have our full production team in Geneva to be able to do an in-depth video on the new BMW Z4 roadster, so we’ll let BMW do it for us. Yes, this is a little promotion heavy, but it does actually have some good info for BMW fans.
Looks like this BMW Z4 wanted to go and find its family roots. This car was caught near BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, which was the home of the first generation Z4.
It doesn’t make much sense for this car to have its BMW badged masked. The car has already premiered, and it should be in showrooms by May. Either way, it’s nice to see the Z4 on U.S. soil.
There’s still some fun to be had in the old BMW Z4. German tuner Hartge used the good ’ol American tradition of stuffing little cars with engines of their big brothers and transplanted the BMW M5’s V10 into a Z4.
If that wasn’t enough, Hartge upgraded the 5.0-liter engine from 507 hp to 550 hp. That’s not bad considering the M Roadster comes with 330 hp. All this extra power comes at a price, about $137,700 at current rates.
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