BMW Z4 2008 News

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.

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)  

GINA, THE SHIFTING SHAPE OF THINGS TO COMEThe future of styling is now public at BMW.The company has just revealed the Gina Light Visionary vehicle it created in 2001 to drive design forward.It looks like a tweaked Z4 roadster, but has a fabric body that can be stretched in various directions to give a different take on the same basic shape.Gina will be reflected in all sorts of forthcoming models, including the baby X1 four-wheel drive expected to break cover at the Paris Motor Show in September.The concept car is about to enter a museum but the company's design boss, Chris Bangle, says it has played an important role.“It's a reaction to the norms of car manufacture, in which everything is fixed,” he says.“We're convinced the principles it sheds light on have an important future. It helped make the point about emotional design.” THINK TANKResearchers are trying to predict the future at a top-secret think-tank in Munich, Germany.The team with the toughest task in the car world was set up by BMW, which is desperate to unlock the secrets of a successful motor company in the time beyond petrol.More than 100 of its best and brightest brains have been transferred to the task, called Operation I.No one from the German luxury brand will talk about the details beyond the basics. It is newly set up and reports directly to the BMW board.“They are looking at everything,” BMW global head of sales Ian Robertson says.“They are looking at different ways to produce cars, different ways to build cars. The whole future of the car.”BMW chose one of its brightest stars, Uli Kranz, to head the think-tank. He is the man who brought the Mini back from the dead and turned it into a global success and a big money-maker for BMW Group, as well as showing it was still possible to turn a profit on cars made in Britain.His team includes planners, designers and engineers at a new research base outside BMW's regular technical centre, the FIZ in Munich, which has more than 4000 engineers and has been operating since the 1990s.“They are outside the group. They are not held back by anything. They are totally different,” Robertson says. “What that tells you is that the BMW Group is already on a road to maintain its technical leadership and its approach to cars of the future.”Robertson, also the chairman of Rolls-Royce and leading the launch of its latest $1 million-and-more Phantom Coupe, refuses to be drawn on the amount BMW is spending on the project.“It's a big budget. That's all I will say,” he says.But he reports it is already generating its first ideas, though no one has any news on when, or if, any of the stuff will go into production. Robertson says they are already doing sketches and plans and the first models.This approach to the future of motoring is not new — General Motors set up a similar think-tank in the 1980s.It was the brainchild of the disgraced former head of the company, Roger B. Smith, at a time when GM was also looking to combat the invasion of affordable Japanese cars in the US.Its response was the creation of the Saturn division, which has still not delivered much more than minimal returns on a plan to draw younger buyers into GM's new-car net. Smith promised his think-tank was even looking at the most basic decisions on personal transport, and said it could recommend a future carcould be a hovering “egg” instead of a conventional-wheeled vehicle.But Smith, who famously told Australian journalists “What have the Japanese ever invented, except for the coin-holder?” never presented any concrete ideas, despite spending many millions. 

In his 15 years at BMW, the Munich car maker's US-born head of design has overseen the creation of some of the industry's most admired and imitated, if controversial, cars.

BMW this month launches its Z4 Coupe and Z4 M Coupe in Australia with a price advantage. The 195kW three-litre Z4 Coupe will cost $87,900 in six-speed manual and $90,500 in six-speed Steptronic auto, which is $3300 less than the Roadster. It also compares favourably with the SLK 350 at $114,400 and the Cayman at $118,000. The 252kW 3.2litre Z4 M Coupe comes in six-speed manual only at $127,200, which compares with the SLK 55 at $163,400 and Cayman S $148,500. The price differential from BMW Roadster to Coupe is $3300. BMW also claims its Coupes are faster, lighter and more fuel efficient. The Z4 Coupes will arrive with similar features to the Roadster models such as dynamic stability control which can be totally switched off, cornering brake control, dynamic traction control and dual front and side airbags. The M model adds Bluetooth mobile phone capability, sat nav, TV and an audio system that makes a lot of noise. BMW claims the Z4 Roadster and Coupe are the first European vehicles with audio systems to receive THX certification. That accreditation is only given to audio output and speakers that are endorsed by Lucas Films, the makers of the Star Wars movies. BMW uses Carver speakers which allow high sound pressures from small speaker sizes. They use 10 speakers including two subwoofers and achieve a total output of 430 watts. BMW claims potential buyers are mainly males aged 35 to 45 years with an appreciation of high-end audio systems. But the Z4s are not just about noise; they are also about performance, boasting a stiffer chassis, stiffer suspension and a 0-100km/h sprint time of 5 seconds. How the Z4 handles Australian roads will be revealed over the next few days of the Australian launch through the twists and turns of Tasmania.   FAST FACTS BMW Z4 and Z4 M Coupe Engines: straight 6, 2996cc (195kW/315Nm); 3246cc (252kW/365Nm) Transmission: 6-speed manual (Z4 , Z4 M), 6-speed Steptronic auto (Z4) Fuel: 55L tank, 8.9L/100km (man Z4), 12.1L (Z4 M), 9L (Z4 auto) CO2 emissions (g/km): 213 (man Z4), 216 (Z4 auto), 292 (Z4 M) Kerb weight (kg): 1320 (man Z4), 1350 (auto Z4), 1420 (Z4 M) Available: This month Price: $87,900 (6-speed manual), $90,500 (6-speed auto), $127,200 (M) Mark Hinchliffe is a senior roadtester on the CARSguide team and also editor of the Courier Mail CARSguide. A full review of the Z4, as well as other news, reviews and analysis will appear in the Courier Mail CARSguide this Saturday.