Let them drive (hardtop) roadsters -- the new BMW Z4
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BMW has just come up with another good reason to live near PCH, the 2009 Z4 Roadster. This is an all-new model, slightly wider, longer and lower than the car it replaces. And the big news is that instead of a retractable soft top, as found in its predecessor, this one packs an aluminum two-piece folding hard top, the operation of which takes just 20 seconds. This can be activated by a switch on the dash or remotely with the key fob.
There’s some clever packaging involved where a trunk partition may be moved back when the roof is up to accommodate more luggage -- the obligatory two sets of golf clubs. Roof down, the trunk can still take one set.
The side windows are now...
40% bigger, so the cabin doesn’t feel quite so claustrophobic with the roof in place and general visibility has been improved over the old model.
Everyone can make up their own minds on the styling, but this one does seem much less awkward. Anyway, the more crucial details for BMW-philes relate to the engines. Two power plants will be available to American drivers, a 255-horsepower naturally aspirated engine in the Z4 sDrive30i or a stonking twin-turbo version developing 300 hp in the Z4 sDrive35i (and 2008 International Engine of the Year). Both are straight sixes, a BMW hallmark.
Transmission options run to a standard six-speed manual, a six-speed auto, or a seven-speed dual clutch arrangement. This is a system that does away with the need for a clutch pedal and functions perfectly well if left in D, but by using steering wheel-mounted paddles, the transition from one ratio to another can be performed in milliseconds. Similar systems are found in machines that range from a VW Jetta to a Bugatti Veyron, by way of the Audi TT and the new generation of Porsche sports cars.
BMW’s fiendish and frustrating iDrive finally makes it into this two-seater, although the new generation of infotainment/heating/navigation system claims to be more user-friendly than earlier versions. The new Z4 will make its three-dimensional debut in January at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, and prices will no doubt be announced before going on sale in the spring. However, a 2008-vintage Z4 with 255 hp starts at $42,700, to give some kind of inkling. The car will be made in Germany, as the company’s Spartanburg, S.C., plant now produces the X-model SUVs exclusively.