BMW Z Models 2009 News

BMW has given the Z4 Roadster a modest external freshen up, and added an eight speed auto transmission as standard to four-cylinder variants. In what is the latest in a string of pricing and specification updates for various BMW models, the Z4 refresh doesn’t extend to engine tweaks, but the two turbo-charged four-cylinder variants – the Z4 sDrive20i and Z4 sDrive28i, pick up that eight speed auto as standard. If you prefer to opt for a manual transmission, you will be pleased to hear that BMW won’t charge you any extra for a six-speed manual gearbox. On close inspection you may, or may not, notice the external changes, but they include; LED light rings around the now standard Bi-xenon headlights, new accent lights with metal inserts over the headlights, Chrome coloured surrounds on the turn signal indicators and a newly designed side indicator surround. Inside the cabin BMW has added high-gloss black surrounds around the central air vents and folding control display of the Z4 Roadsters iDrive system. Equipment upgrades include the addition of ‘Professional’ grade navigation system as standard. This system includes a high-resolution 8.8-inch colour display, DVD drive, functional bookmarks, 3D map and arrow display and bird’s-eye view. The Z4 sDrive28i picks up new 18-inch wheels, sports seats, internet functionality and a music interface for smart phones. And the top of the range Z4 sDrive35is receives new 19-inch wheels (up from 18-inch), wind deflector, internet functionality and a music interface for smartphones. BMW Z4 Roadster Australian Pricing: Australian MRLP* BMW Z4 sDrive 20i $79,900 BMW Z4 sDrive 28i $89,900 BMW Z4 sDrive 35i $119,545 Joel Helmes is the editor of the Behind the Wheel radio program, heard on more than 150 stations around Australia, and www.behindthewheel.com.au

Last month it was confirmed Toyota and BMW would collaborate on a new platform that would form the basis of at least one sports car from each of the automakers.

As the first shoots of spring emerge, new car sales figures for September show a jump in convertible buyers. And money is no object, with many prepared to spend up big to pop the roof down.VFACTS industry figures show a modest sales surge of the Mazda MX5, Mini Cooper cabrio, Volkswagen Eos and Audi A3 convertible - all costing more than $40,000. Further up the price list Audi's A5 cabrio, the BMW Z4, Mercedes-Benz SLK and Volkswagen Eos are also popular with prices for some of the German cars topping out at more than $80,000.Dealers and carmakers say the warmer weather is helping. Mazda spokesman, Steve Maciver, said the order books for the company's popular MX5 were growing. "It's a combination of things but once the warmer weather hits, people like the idea of a convertible," he said.September sales figures show a 17 per cent jump in sportscar sales, which includes convertibles. Apart from topless motoring, luxury off-roaders are also proving popular. BMW spokesman, Toni Andreevski, said the company's popular X5 off-roader, which opens around $86,000, surged last month on the back of fresh supply from the United States. "We've got more stock and buyers are prepared to spend," he said.TOP 10  BRANDS    Sept           YTD 2009 (+/- on 2008)Toyota                   16,007             142,898       -22.3%Holden                      9744               85,667       -14.0%Ford                          8427               70,289       -13.7%Mazda                       7205               57,695         -7.2%Hyundai                    5484               47,625        36.4%Mitsubishi                4312               40,092        -16.3%Nissan                       4079               38,446       -15.8%Honda                       3939               31,787       -22.9%Subaru                      2807               27,225         -9.0%Volkswagen             2307               22,717         -5.4%

It's a piece of automotive art created by the luxury carmaker, BMW, for a television commercial that was outlawed because it promoted irresponsible driving.The colourful canvas will be auctioned next month at a gala Melbourne event for the Make Breast Cancer History organisation. The carmaker's painting is one of more than 20 unusual items to be auctioned to raise funds for breast cancer research. Both event organisers and BMW believe the piece - which measures 2.5m by 1.2m - will attract strong bids.Make Breast Cancer History spokesperson, Rachel West, said it was priceless. "Considering its history, it is unique so we hope it will fetch a good price," she said. Apart from the BMW painting the charity will flog off a Kokoda Track walk in PNG, a private cocktail party for 30 and a year's supply of meat, fruit and vegetables. "It is a charity auction with a twist," West said.The BMW ad featured a Z4 coupe creating the giant artwork in a warehouse by driving with painted tyres. The work is now a part of BMW's Art Car Collection. Company spokesman, Toni Andreevski, said the German carmaker did not normally donate pieces from its collection. "It's certainly unusual but it's for a good cause," he said. "Rather than leave it in storage, we thought we would donate it." Andreevski welcomed the opportunity to turn the negative publicity surrounding the ad, into a positive.The ad was outlawed by the Advertising Standards Bureau in June because the stunts shown in the clip broke Australian road rules. The bureau found that the ‘artistic’ ad encouraged hoon driving because it showed the car spinning its wheels and skidding.The clip was used around the world but Australia was the only country to ban it. BMW commissioned South African artist Robin Rhode and famous film director Ridley Scott's son, Jake, to make the huge football-field size canvas.The company also has works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella and Ken Done.The charity auction aims to raise $100,000 and will be held on Saturday, October 10.

This time they have scored a victory over commonsense by having the BMW Z4 television commercial pulled from our screens.You know the one. It shows a Z4 sports car being driven over a giant canvas to 'paint' the latest in BMW's 40-year run of 'Art Car' creations.In the past the company has given cars to artists and asked them to use them as a canvas. Andy Warhol did a BMW M1 and, more than a dozen cars later, even Ken Done has daubed a piece of art-in-motoring history.The television commercial was filmed during the art work and, to the vast majority of people, has nothing to do with hooning.The engine does not race, the driver is not wild or wicked or out of control, and there is no tyre smoke or loss of control. But the wowsers are worried that it sets a poor example and so BMW has taken it off the television.Will it make a difference? Not likely.        

The Herald Sun reports Australia's advertising watchdog outlawed the ad for a BMW convertible because driving stunts shown in the clip would break Australian road rule laws.The ad features the BMW Z4 coupe creating a giant artwork in a warehouse by driving with painted tyres, and includes the vehicle spinning its wheels and skidding.The clip, which has been used around the world, was made by artist Robin Rhode and famed film director Ridley Scott's son, Jake.The ad sparked a backlash; one viewer told the Advertising Standards Bureau and Channel 9 the clip "would encourage car hoons to spin and burn their tyres".The watchdog banned the ad on the basis it depicted illegal driving."The board noted that the advertisement does depict in a number of places the driver intentionally allowing the wheels of the car to lose traction and perform ... a four-wheel drift," the bureau's judgment said.BMW hit back, claiming it was art, not hooning."We believe the audience can distinguish between fantasy and reality," a statement from BMW to the board said.Read the full story at the Herald Sun   

BMW is currently experiencing a great deal of success with their current roadster, the second generation Z4.

And few have declined the opportunity. Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Ernst Fuchs, David Hockney and Australia's own Ken Done have all taken up the brush and palette to be part of the Art Cars collection.When South African artist Robin Rhode was invited to join the elite collection he decided to bring something very different to the table."For all the other artists the car was the canvas," BMW Australia's general manager of marketing, Tom Noble, said. "For the new Z4 Rhode decided to use the car as the brush."The result is a vast canvas almost the size of a football field on which a driver under strict choreography instructions from Rhode has swirled and spun their way through a storm of vibrant primary colours to produce An Expression of Joy.Organising the artwork was a nightmare of practical logistics with each colour applied by a fresh set of tyres from a paint reservoir mounted to the rear axle and remotely activated by the artist as the car performed its motorised ballet on the canvas.To record the moment Rhode was joined by young British director Jake Scott — son of highly-acclaimed director Sir Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator and the new Robin Hood film).Rhode and Scott completed the one-take, no-repeat performance in just 12 hours capturing both the essence of the art and one of the most complex and artistic television commercial campaigns BMW has ever planned. To make sure nothing was missed during the performance Scott used 45 simultaneous cameras.

BMW's Z4 could be forgiven for being just a little confused. The sharp-edged drop-top, which had been tasked with sweeping away the ‘hairdresser’ image of the marshmallow-soft Z3 when it was originally launched in 2003, has now been toned down to make it more widely accepted. Whether it was the intention or not, the result of the BMW Z4's reinvention is a softer, more gentle creature ... something in the nature of a frontal lobotomy for what was once a a bit of an edgy wild child with attitude. "The original Z4 — while being very successful and selling over 180,000 world-wide — was youthful, dynamic and polarising ... targeting a very niche part of the market," BMW Australia managing director Stavros Yallouridis said at the car's Australian launch this week. "With the new Z4 we still wanted to attract those customers but also win new customers who put more emphasis on elegance, quality, practicality and comfort." To that end two of BMW's brightest young female designers set about knocking the rough edges off Bangle's original design. Juliane Blasi and Nadya Amaout applied a gentler and more modern eye to the exterior and interior respectively to sweep up those customers who may have found the original car too confronting. That is not to say the new generation roadster — for that is how BMW now refers to the convertible it has given a folding tin-top — is soft. Far from it, but certainly more polished and with a little less character than the original car which burst onto the scene with a "love me or loathe me" attitude and a look to match. Exterior The first thing that is diminished is the sharply divisive "flame" surfacing that gave the Z4 it's Chris Bangle stamp of individuality. The original blend of convex and concave surfaces were nothing if not confronting and yet when viewed on the move gave the impression of a wraith or changeling — you just couldn't be certain from glance to glance just what had caught your eye. The result of the sheetmetal changes are that this car looks bigger, wider and shows a real family resemblance to the more up-market 6 Series coupes. In a world of homogenised motoring design that is apparently the target ... and BMW has hit it. Drivetrains The only models on offer for the Australian launch drive were the naturally aspirated 3-litre, 190kW sDrive30i ($98,100 for the 6-speed manual or add $3300 for the 6-speed sports automatic) and the range-topping 225kW bi-turbo version of the same proven inline six cylinder powerplant at $116,900 or $120,400 for the 7-speed automated manual. Sadly there was no sign of the entry-level — if you can really call an $86,200 two-seater entry level — 2.5-litre sDrive 23i. Interior Cabin space is impressive. There is ample shoulder, elbow, leg and headroom for a pair of economy-sized passengers who need not spend the day looking nervously at each other as gearchanges lead to unwanted hand-leg contact. The Z4 gains a huge win in that its i-Drive control centre is the far more practical and intuitive revision unveiled in the latest generation of the top-end 7 Series limousines. With less layers of complexity and most functions signposted by a select array of buttons the new i-Drive is not only less intimidating it has the elegant simplicity that can only come with a couple of generations of tweaking — both by BMW and some of its rivals. Yet, with that box ticked it is a disappointment to find that against the trend of almost every other convertible of note the Z4's roof can only be raised or lowered when the car is stationary and Park engaged. The practical advantages of being able to close the roof on the move — and there are plenty of manufacturers who offer this — are manifest. The niceities in the cabin extend to a much-improved range of storage solutions — from folding door bins to storage nets behind the seats and a ski hatch from the boot, sun-reflective leather which absorbs up to 20 per cent less heat, a 15gb music storage capacity on the iDrive and 40 per cent improved vision and 50 per cent less noise intrusion thanks to the folding hardtop. Safety, chassis and dynamics While the exterior design has been softened, it would be much fairer to describe the work done under the skin as refinement. The Z4 rides better, it is less nervous than the original and the general feel is of a car that has had far more thought put into it — from both the point of view of driver enjoyment and driver comfort. The full suite of safety acronyms are standard across the range with dynamic stability control, cornering brake control, four airbags, a rollover safety system and cruise control with brake function. Also standard is dynamic drive control (DDC) which can be set at one of three stages — normal, sport or sport plus — and modifies sharpness in throttle control, steering and shift patterns on the automatic gearbox. On cars fitted with the optional Adaptive M Suspension, the DDC control extends to mapping for the electronic damper adjustments. There is little new about the Z4's suspension architecture — a double-joint tiebar front axle and independent centrally guided rear axle with a high proportion of aluminium components — yet it is all well balanced and well suited to the rear-wheel drive sports car. Driving The ride is both controlled and compliant with confidence inspiring stability both on turn-in and mid-corner. The electronic power steering has a nice solid feel to it with adequate feedback — not benchmark but at the better end of the scale. All three engines are proven performers and the two we were able to test at the launch were both a good match to the Z4. The naturally aspirated 3-litre six coupled to the six-speed auto is a well balanced unit capable of a 6.1 second 0-100km/h sprint but there is no doubt that the hero of the family is the force-fed version of the same engine. The bi-turbo punches out a very respectable 225kW but it is the 400Nm of torque on tap from 1300rpm right through to 5000rpm that gives the engine its outstanding character. Raw figures — 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds and top speed of 250km/h — don't start to tell the story. With the meat of the torque just a tap of the throttle away the true charm of the 35i is its tractability. Price: from $86,200 to $120,400 Engine: 2.5L/6-cylinder 150kW/250Nm; 3.0L/6-cylinder 190kW/310Nm; 3.0L/6-cylinder bi-turbo 225kW/400NmTransmissions: 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic, 7-speed automated manual; rear-wheel driveEconomy: 9.2L/100km (sDrive23i), 9.2L/100km (sDrive30i), 9.8L (sDrive35i)  

There were a couple of late arrivals including the gorgeous new BMW Z4 sportster, as well as more details on everything from the fuel miser Suzuki Alto to the Honda Insight which was shown as a left-hand-drive concept but will soon be sold as a $30,000-something hybrid hero.One of the genuine surprises was on the GM Holden stand, but it was not the Cruze.The unexpected news was details of a couple of limited-edition showroom specials to keep the Commodore ticking along.The International pack for the Commodore sedan and Sportswagon was not a shock, because dollar deals on Australia's favourite car always go well, but the arrival of a limited-edition Senator from Holden Special Vehicles was completely unexpected.The car is priced from $69,990, which doesn't look like much of a bargain until you clock the regular Senator at $80,500.Stripping the price means dumping some stuff, including the excellent 'magnetic ride' suspension, but the mechanical package is based on the latest Clubsport and that will be more than enough for most people."Today's release of the E-Series Senator is designed to appeal to customers seeking the performance our company is renowned for in a subtle - yet identifiably HSV - package, with a very attractive price point," says the managing director of HSV, Phil Harding.Only 89 cars will be built and it still gets 317 kiloWatts and 19-inch alloy wheels. In the style of every limited-edition model the car comes with a special logo, in this case on the headrests."We think it's a good time to put some extra value into the range and the Senator should do well," says Harding.Find out more on the 2009 Melbourne Motor Show