The Z4 was always a bit of a secret gem in BMW’s fold. Boys looking for a fast and enticing sports car tend to go for something like the 3 Series Coupe or the flashier mid-engine cars from Porsche.
Girls, on the other hand, look to the more elegant 3 Series Convertible or the more effeminate Mercedes-Benz SLK.
To all but those most committed to discovering the treasure within its compact footprint, the Z4 was considered too minimalist – to the point of appearing sparse.
Despite the suggestion of the relaxed lifestyle statement professed by the roadster’s body style, the Z4 is intended to be a serious driving machine. And at its most extreme expression, BMW created a coupe version of the car. With the driver’s seat sited almost over the rear axle, the Z4 is engineered to be the modern interpretation of the traditional sports car.
BMW’s strategy for the Z4 didn’t help. In either body style, the Z4 never got the big performance numbers. In the most powerful 3.0si variant, the 3-litre engine (worth 272bhp in the 530i) made “only” 265bhp.
Even the hard-as-nails Z4M, developed by the heralded M Division, could only make do with a 3.2-litre engine that came up a little short against the M3 with the same lump. It was almost as if BMW didn’t want too many people to understand the Z4, thus restricting the enjoyment of the car to a select (more like eccentric) few.
But things are changing for the little sports car. The second-generation Z4 is a far easier creature to understand and appreciate. Most notable is the adoption of a retractable hardtop system, allowing the new car to double as a traditional Roadster as well as a Coupe (the transformation is just under 20 seconds).
If nothing else, it will appeal to those who want to enjoy a convertible but not live with the compromise of a fabric top. This is only BMW’s second hardtop convertible after the 3 Series.
Offering protection from the weather and the security of a hardtop, the Z4 also signals BMW’s intention to position it on a higher plane than before.
Evidence of the car’s premium aspirations are only too obvious in its styling. The Z4 is longer (by 148mm) and wider (just 9mm) than its predecessor. But to make the car even sportier, the designers made it 8mm shorter than the old Roadster. The iconic proportions remain, with an impossibly long bonnet set ahead of a compact and rear-set cabin.
BMW isn’t shy to admit that it’s hoping to reach out to more female buyers with the new car. The design for the exterior and the cabin was shortlisted from a host of entries from BMW’s design offices in Munich and California. It was the work of two ladies – although BMW emphasizes that the judging process was entirely anonymous, not taking into consideration the designers’ gender. (Honest.)
In any case, the Z4 is still as masculine as any other BMW. More flowing lines replace the old Z4’s abrupt cuts on the flanks, while the cabin looks positively luxurious, with generous use of curves and plush materials like leather accented by wood or aluminium.
