Filed under: Convertible, Performance, BMW, Luxury, Quick Spins

The BMW Z3/Z4 roadster has never really had a truly widespread following because it has either been too humble and small a roadster (albeit with some fun and very low-volume M editions) or it has been - in this E89 generation - too casual an image leader with no racier aspirations. The current 480-hp Z4 GTEs don't count, since they are as stock a Z4 as today's Pamela Anderson is the same blonde actress we knew as Heidi on Home Improvement. You know, sort of like those ever-so-slightly modified Toyota Camry coupes competing in NASCAR.

The ultimate highpoint for the BMW Z roadster franchise was at the very start of its life in the mid-90s, in the James Bond film GoldenEye with Pierce Brosnan. The Stinger missiles that Q's team installed behind the Z3's headlights were never fired, and BMW never even offered this self-defense package as an option. Yet another case of the ol' bait and switch.

And in all these subsequent years of Z3s and Z4s strutting their long-hooded stuff, the little sporting Bimmer could really have used a live Stinger missile or two to spice things up. The current Z4 exists, it is pretty dang sexy, and BMW seems content to let it linger there. We just drove the new midlife version of the roadster near BMW headquarters in Munich, and it served to reinforce our feelings.

Driving Notes

• We have always harbored a desire to fall in love with this swoopy and well-proportioned roadster, but it still strikes us a bit like the way the over-designed Mercedes SLK now strikes us: a really nice lifestyle/reward car, with not much else going on.
• All BMW had on hand for us was this Z4 sDrive35is with its 335-horsepower, 3.0-liter TwinPower Turbo straight-six that also cranks to 332 pound-feet of torque, all spiffed up with the M Sport spa treatment and adaptive dampers. Things could be worse.
• If we were going to take the graying-chest-hair plunge and grab a BMW Z4, it would be this exact car. Otherwise, and despite all the positives of the newer 240-hp four-cylinder sDrive28i model, what's the point? This particular roadster needs its strong six-cylinder to give it some character.
• We would also be happier if this top-trim roadster could be equipped with the six-speed manual transmission that is offered on the aforementioned sDrive28i.
• The optional Valencia Orange Metallic paint does look a bit two-tone precious to us when the black folding hardtop is closed, but it's still a sweetheart to gaze upon.
• Looking at the standard Monroney sticker of $64,800 (the base sDrive28i now starts at $47,950) and then dragging our eyes down the hyper-extended list of optional add-ons until reaching our car's $80k-plus price estimate, one has to pause to take it all in. The Z4 35is is wonderful enough, but, man, it can cost a ton.
• Our 19-inch, $1,200 optional M alloys with Bridgestone Potenza RE 050A run-flat treads, combined with the speed-sensitive electric power steering and Servotronic assistance, made for a usually fine but occasionally woggy feeling under some circumstances. Through series of curves taken at real speed, there was, at times, a vagueness of trajectory, again leaving us with the feeling that BMW wants the Z4 in any trim to be a car of leisure.
• The adaptive M suspension package does help treat this vagueness from behind the wheel somewhat, but overall the various dynamic elements taken together create a slightly confused ride and handling experience for a sexy car that promises so much. Basically, the Z4 ends up feeling every bit of its 3,549 pounds. (For reference, a Porsche Boxster S weighs a tick under 3,000 pounds at its heaviest PDK curb weight and feels like even less than that.)
• Attempting to make up for any black marks on the Z4's resume is this model's sheer power and torque. That final "s" tagged on to the name certainly helps. And while we miss a manual option, the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters is a sweet setup when its most dynamic mode is selected. However, we understand that BMW has no intention of even offering a self-locking sport limited-slip rear differential. Oh, well.

This freshened 2014 BMW Z4 has been on sale in North America since the end of March. It's a shame the car has become so sexy and interesting, yet so little time has been spent spicing up its chassis dynamics and overall drive feel. The absence of an M edition of the Z4 has been rather conspicuous, but perhaps that's because BMW's engineers know the platform isn't up to the job. This one's for sunny-day happy time cruising only... with style.

2014 BMW Z4 sDrive35is originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 May 2013 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the exception of the Cayman/Boxster twins, traditional German sports cars tend to be overlooked. I don't think about the BMW Z4 that often even though I generally like it, in particular the sDrive28i fitted with the TwinPower Turbo 2.0-liter engine. None of the changes to the 2014 BMW Z4 will likely change this because few of the changes are that noticeable. More »

We have seen some amazingly terrible parking attempts in our time, so trust us when we say this one is certainly among the greats. Watch as this lady bashes, knocks, and crunches her BMW Z4 while miserably failing to execute the simplest parking maneuver possible. More »

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Performance, Videos, BMW, Misc. Auto Shows, Design/Style

Goodbye Bangle, hello Zagato. While the BMW design ethos may be best known for the aggressive flame-surfacing language, it took a decidedly different approach at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este this weekend when it unveiled the Zagato Coupé concept.

Deduced to be based on the current Z4, the Zagato Coupé was coachbuilt by the famed Milanese design studio into the swoopy Kamm-tailed prototype you see here. Word on the Italian lakeshore is that, along with the new shape, BMW has also increased the coupe's output to 400 horsepower - presumably from the 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight six that produces 340 horsepower in the top-of-the-line Z4 sDrive35is.

But don't take our word for it - watch the video below to listen to the fully functional concept car kick over as Andrea Zagato drives his latest creation from the lawn across the judging booth at Villa d'Este.

Continue reading BMW Zagato Coupe clears its throat for the crowds at Villa d'Este

BMW Zagato Coupe clears its throat for the crowds at Villa d'Este originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 May 2012 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Convertible, Performance, BMW, Racing

There's something rotten in the state of Bavaria when BMW's M division is more keen to tune out crossovers than roadsters. While the previous-generation Z4 and the Z3 that preceded it both had M versions, the current Z4 has been conspicuously absent from the hall's of the BMW performance division. That could all change if the bean-counters see a good business case for a Z4 M, but in the meantime we're reportedly slated to get something even crazier: the V8-powered Z4 GT3.

The competition-spec model loses the folding roof in favor of a fixed one reinforced by a full roll cage. It also gets racing slicks and a much more aggressive aero package. But the fun part is the V8 engine from the outgoing M3, tuned to 480 horsepower and paired with a six-speed sequential gearbox.

Inside Line has it on good authority that the Z4 GT3 will soon be available to privateer racers in America, but it will, of course, be restricted to closed tracks. And considering it costs the equivalent of over $400,000 in Europe, it hardly fills the gap left by the absence of the street-legal Z4 M we're still pining for.

BMW bringing Z4 GT3 to North America, but still no Z4 M originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There's something extraordinarily sexy about a woman who can handle a car. Especially when they also dream that their plain-Jane-Z4 is really a BMW Z4 GT3 — just like the woman in this BMW web advert. Rowr! More »