Three months after the premiere of the BMW Zagato Coupé, BMW and Zagato turned heads again at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Created in just six weeks, the BMW Zagato Roadster represents another masterful example of the traditional coachbuilder’s art and an elegant take on the sporty, masculine, modern car.

The decision to launch another collaboration between BMW and Italian coachbuilder Zagato, was made only a short time after the BMW Zagato Coupé took its first bow. Encouraged by the positive reaction to the Coupé, Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design, and Andrea Zagato soon agreed to another partnership project.

Andrea Zagato said at the unveiling: “BMW is a high-achieving carmaker boasting a vast well of knowledge and technical capability in this area. When you combine that with our expertise in the creation of micro-series cars and our streamlined production processes, everything is in place to produce a beautiful model like the BMW Zagato Roadster.”

The BMW Zagato Roadster adds the fineries of the Italian “dolce vita”, to the competent German engineering beneath. Its designers having succeeded in lending the car its own distinct character without blurring its family ties to BMW.

“This car is not designed only as an elegant convertible, but also as a masculine and extremely dynamic sports car which evokes a powerful driving experience” says Zagato chief designer Norihiko Harada, describing the design philosophy behind the BMW Zagato Roadster.

The sweeping bonnet and long wheelbase pin the driver back towards the driven rear wheels, that is a given for any Z4 Roadster. The low down, ultra-sporty position inside the cockpit, carries with it the taut, hallmark BMW surface treatment and Zagato’s clearly defined distribution of visual mass around the driver. This lends the BMW Zagato Roadster an athletic appearance – poised, fast and eager.

Hamann Motorsport has introduced a tuning and accesories package for the the current BMW Z4 Roadster.

The Hamann aerodynamics kit is characterised by a new front spoiler with integrated LED daytime running lights, a set of larger side skirts, the addition of a rear spoiler and a new rear bumper housing four tailpipes responsible for the throaty sound of the Hamann sports exhaust system. The car rides on a set of polished, three-piece, 20-inch light alloy wheels, which Hamann call ‘Edition Race Matt Black’. Tyres are 235/30 ZR20 at front and 295/25 ZR20 at the rear. Sports suspension lowers the car by 30 mm to give it an agressive stance and improve handling.

The tuning house has also fettled under the bonnet of the Z4 sDrive35i and amongst other things has removed the 250 km/h limitation. An optimised engine management system has resulted in performance figures of 265 kW at 5 230 r/min (standard is 225 kW at 2 500 r/min). Maximum torque has also been increased to an impressive 540 N.m, which is available between 1 300 – 5 000 r/min (standard is 400 N.m between the same engine speeds). Hamann claim top speed has been increased to 285 km/h.

For the interior, Hamann has created an exclusive feel to their Z4 roadster with the addition an aluminum gear knob and the set of foot mats with the silver stitched Hamann logo. If that’s not enough, buyers can also specify their own custom interior leather trim.

While BMW had pretty much ruled out the possibility of creating a successor to the M variants of the Z3 and the previous Z4 with its new hardtop roadster, no one from Munich ever said that there wasn’t going to be a faster and more focused version than the Z4 sDrive35i.

That car is the Z4 sDrive35is -the ‘S’ is what makes the difference- and it will make its world debut at next month’s 2010 Detroit Auto Show before going on sale worldwide later next year.

The range topping Z4 features a more powerful version of the company’s 3,0-litre twin-turbocharged straight six and M-Sports styling and chassis packages.

At the heart of the Z4 sDrive35is is BMW’s 3,0-litre twin-turbo straight-six that benefits from optimised air supply and increased boost pressure. Output is lifted from 225 kW to 250 kW at 5 800 rpm, while peak torque is increased to 450 N.m and is available from 1 400 rpm all the way to 4 500 rpm.

Furthermore, the modified engine management on the Z4 sDrive35is also allows the use of an Overboost function, briefly increasing engine torque under full load by another 50 N.m to 500 N.m.

Power is driven to the rear wheels through a revised version of the firm’s seven-speed double clutch transmission with BMW announcing a zero to 100 km/h sprint time of 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h.

BMW says that despite the increased performance over the standard Z4 sDrive35i, the ‘S’ model delivers the same fuel economy averaging 9.0 l/100km.

Aside from the powetrain upgrades, the Z4 sDrive35is also comes as standard with an M Sports Package including the M Aerodynamics Package and adaptive M Suspension.

The M Suspension, which features electronically controlled dampers, lowers the entire car by 10 mm. The top-Z4 also gets a reprogrammed electronic power steering system that promises to offer increased feedback.

On the outside, the M package adds unique 18-inch alloy wheels with 19-inch rims available as an option, a new front bumper, re-trimmed kidney grilles, matte silver exterior mirror caps, a new rear bumper with an integrated diffuser and specific tail pipes.

Finally, the interior has been enhanced with several features such as the M leather steering wheel with gearshift paddles, M footrest, sports seats, aluminium carbon trim, BMW Individual roof lining, M entry strips and footmats with coloured piping.

The revised instrument cluster with grey faces on the dials and the ‘sDrive35is’ model designation complete the package.

Erectile Dysfunction

Adapted from CarScoop

When you break down – and you know you will – and swagger into your local BMW dealership to arrange a test drive of the all-new Z4. . . machismo all aquiver with anticipation of easing the top down while cruising a suitable boulevard, bear in mind the car was designed by girls.

Two, to be precise. Nadya Arnanout did the interior and Juliane Blasi penned the exterior. About now, it’s easy to get really Freudian, but let’s – if you’ll pardon the pun – skirt that particular minefield.

However, I hasten to add there is nothing effeminate about the Z4 and there is also a world of difference between ‘effeminate’ and having a feminine touch. Although hard to spot directly, the new Z4 just has the kind of curves and contours that women understand better than most men do. And no, you will not be mistaken for a hairdresser if you drive one.

In the modern era, the BMW Z3 quickly rocketed to iconic status with its gloriously retro look and charm but the previous, angular Z4 blew that all away in a disappointing construction that had little going for it.

With the new Z4, BMW has gone for the classic roadster look of long front, seats as close to the rear axle as possible, rear wheel drive and, for the first time, an automatic fully retractable hardtop. The aluminium shells of the two-piece lightweight hardtop come to rest in the roof compartment, saving maximum space in the process.

The new BMW Z4 comes with a range of three straight-six power units displacing either 3,0-litres or 2,5-litres – the sDrive35i has a twin-turbo, straight-six petrol engine displacing 2 979 cm3 and is generates 225 kW at 5 800 r/min and 400 Nm from 1 300 r/min. It will launch to 100 km/h in 5,2 seconds or in 5,1 if equipped with the seven-speed sports automatic double clutch gearbox and run on to a governed top speed of 250 km/h.

BMW claims fuel consumption of less than 10 litres/100km, provided it is not driven in hooligan fashion!

The Z4 sDrive30i comes with a straight six, non-turbo petrol engine that displaces 2 996 cm3 and produces 190 kW at 6 600 r/min and 310 Nm at 2 750 r/min. It’s a tad slower than the 3,5 to 100 km/h, though only by a half-second or so (5,8 or 6,1 seconds for the sports auto) and will also easily reach 250 km/h.

BMW claims 9,2 litres/100km.

Then there’s the sDrive23i ‘budget’ model, another straight-six of 2 497 cm3 capacity capable of 150 kW at 6 200 r/min and 250 Nm at 2 950 r/min. It manages 242 km/h for the manual and 239 km/h for the sports auto with, respectively, acceleration to 100 km/h in 6,6 and 7,3 seconds. Its fuel consumption is pretty much the same as the three-litre.

The top model is available not only with a manual six-speed gearbox, but also with sports automatic featuring seven gears and double-clutch transmission.

Boasting Dynamic Drive Control as standard, the BMW Z4 enables the driver to vary the set-up of the drivetrain and suspension at the touch of a button in three modes. BMW iDrive, in turn, is now available for the first time as an option on the BMW Roadster, the new generation of iDrive coming together with the optional Professional navigation system (standard on sDrive35i).

On the low-slung front section with its large, upright BMW kidney grille, the wide air intake and the dual round headlights typical of the BMW brand xenon headlights are standard.

Other design features are the extra-large engine compartment lid extending far over the wheel arches, the black A-pillars, the gill intakes at the side with their integrated LED direction indicators, as well as the slender rear lights with their three-dimensional LED-fed rows of light units.

The U-shaped, contoured surface on the driver’s side comprises the controls for the lights and air-conditioning to the left and right of the steering wheel. These elements are available in Satin Silver matt, Fine Aluminium long-grain and Brown Ash grain, the respective colour and trim variant also being used on the centre console and door opener.

The seats with their integrated headrests come as standard on the BMW Z4 sDrive23i and BMW Z4 sDrive30i in high-quality leather, with a choice of three different colours. The colour chosen is then also used on the lower section of the instrument panel and on the armrest of the door lining as well as the armrest on the centre console.

The optional Extended Leather Package (standard on sDrive35i) also offers leather on the upper section of the instrument panel, the doorsills, the sun visors in Black leather as well as the leather-finish door closing handles in upholstery colour on the passenger’s side.

The new Z4 is the first roadster from BMW with a fully retractable hardtop. This two-piece roof structure in lightweight aluminium shell technology opens and closes electro-hydraulically at the touch of a button within just 20 seconds, the two roof elements coming to rest in a snug and compact arrangement in the roof compartment.

The retractable roof opens and closes by means of a switch in the centre console or by remote control on the central locking. Enhanced remote control with Comfort Access is available as an option, allowing the user to close the roof also from a distance.

The roof compartment and the luggage compartment are separated by a variable cover in between folding down as required with the roof closed. This increases luggage space from 180 litres with the roof open all the way to 310 litres with the roof closed. The maximum load has been increased by 30 kg over the former model to 330 kg.

The flexible luggage concept offers enough space in the luggage compartment even with the hardtop open for a medium-sized hard-shell suitcase.

Keeping it all on the road is a double-joint tiebar front axle made largely of aluminium and enhanced by spring struts and a centrally guided rear axle.

The rear axle of the BMW Z4 Roadster has longitudinal arms connected to the body and the track control arms pivoting on the rear axle subframe. As a result, directional stability, steering behaviour and lane change stability may all be optimised independently of one another.

The new BMW Z4 comes with new high-performance brakes and is the first car in its segment to feature an electrical parking brake activated and released by a button on the centre console. The Jury is still out on this one, but it doesn’t appeal to me.

sDrive23i and sDrive30i models come standard with 17-inch light-alloy rims with run flat tyres as well as a tyre pressure monitor.

As an option, the agility may be enhanced by the Adaptive M Suspension featuring electronically controlled dampers (standard on sDrive35i). The Adaptive M Suspension lowers the entire car by 10 millimetres and a central control unit varies the inbound and rebound stages on the four twin-sleeve gas pressure dampers to provide optimum response at all times.

Indeed, this response time is so short that a signal coming from a front wheel crossing a hole in the road reaches and re-adjusts the rear dampers even before the rear wheels reach the same uneven road surface.

The new BMW Z4 has slightly larger dimensions compared to its predecessor, and is 4,239 millimetres long, 1,790 millimetres wide, and 1,291 millimetres high. Wheelbase measures 2,496 millimetres.

Frontal and head/thorax air bags, belt latch tensioners and belt force limiters are activated by the sensor-controlled electronic safety system as a function of the type and severity of a collision. The head/thorax air bags are integrated on the outside of the seat backrests and inflate over a large surface in the event of a collision from the side.

The new BMW Z4 comes as standard with automatic air-conditioning and the CD player fitted as regular series equipment also plays music files in the MP3 format. The optionally available audio systems then come with up to 14 loudspeakers and two additional central base speakers for an intense and very precise experience in sound, with amplifier output of up to 650 Watt.

A USB interface is available as standard supplementing the standard AUX-In port and allowing the integration of various external MP3 players or other data media such as a conventional USB stick in the car’s audio system. A DVD changer in the glove compartment is also available as an option (standard on sDrive35i models).

The new BMW Z4 is built at BMW Plant Regensburg alongside the BMW 3 Series and the BMW 1 Series because BMW Plant Spartanburg, where the former model was built, is concentrating from now on entirely on the production of BMW’s X models.

Pricing:

BMW Z4 sDrive35 twin-turbo – R682 500
BMW Z4 sDrive35 twin-turbo (seven-speed, double-clutch sports a/t) – R711 200
BMW Z4 sDrive30i – R583 500
BMW Z4 sDrive30i 6spd a/t- R604 400
BMW Z4 sDrive23i – R506 500
BMW Z4 sDrive23i 6spd a/t – R527 400

Z4 comes with raft of options – wheels priced from R7 200 – R28 800, depending on style and tyre size, an interior mirror with a built-in compass (R1 100), lumbar support in the seats (R3 700), adaptive headlights (R4 800), parking sensors (R8 000), DVD shuttle (R6 000) and full satnav with 80 GB hard disk, 12 GB music storage, 8,8-inch screen, detailed 3D map display, bookmarks, travel planner and a USB slot for data exchange.

Adding a TV receiver will add R9 000 and voice control R3 550 but all models come with a five-year or 100 000 km non-contributory service and maintenance plan and BMW On-Call roadside support across South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland.

A word of advice – go for the biggest rim size your pocket can bear. It makes a huge difference to the ride comfort on our roads.

Colin Windell is the editor of Fleet magazine and contributor to SA Car Fan.