BMW BLOG

BMW has won two accolades at the Scottish Car of the Year Awards 2009, voted for by the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers (ASMW). The Z4 picked up the award for Scottish Drop Top of the Year 2009, whilst BMW has been crowned the winner in the Eco category for its EfficientDynamics programme.*

With its sleek lines and incredible performance the BMW Z4 fiercely beat off its competitors to scoop its award. Its combination of striking looks and innovative technologies, together with an electro-hydraulically operated Retractable Hard-Top roof and a starting price of £28,650 OTR, made it clear to see why the Z4 was such an appealing choice.

Bill Caven, President of the ASMW, said: “The Z4 boasts a fine pedigree of high performance and thrills which few can match. Matched with brilliant build quality and a slick folding roof mechanism this is the ultimate Scottish driving machine.

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Matte colors are “in” this year and in the past, we have seen several BMW models sporting different matte coats. It started with the a gorgeous matte black BMW X6, then an M3 in the same color and another 3 Series.

Today, for the first time, we have photos of a grey matte BMW Z4 E89, of course, an unofficial paint job. The “coat” is actually a combination of vinyl-film-foil and according to the owner, it costs around $2,000.

The Z4 also sports BMW 313 performance wheels with a gray/silver matte finish. Not a bad combination and definitely a car that stands out.

If the car looks different to you in these photos, it’s also because of the 14mm lens used on the camera.

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Ever since its official launch earlier this year at Detroit Motor Show, the BMW Z4 has been put through numerous comparisons by auto journalists across the globe. From the Z4 vs. Audi, to the Z4 vs. Mercedes SLK or Porsche Boxter, the comparisons focused on performance, design and handling, and in most of them, the new roadster came ahead.

Benny, the editor over at our BimmerToday.de sister blog, decided to step out of the boundaries and try something different: BMW Z4 vs. Porsche Cayman S. To some roadsters purists, this might seem a bit unorthodox since the Cayman S has been said to be king in its own market, but let’s take a look and see if the new BMW Z4 lived up to our expectations:

“Despite the Porsche leaving the sportier impression, the adaptive M-suspension seems to be more refined. The possibility to switch modes is extremely nice in everyday driving and due to the ergonomically positioning of the buttons, you can really switch between the drive modes every minute.

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Our sister blog, BimmerToday.de brings us a great video of the BMW Z4 sDrive35i model tested by them in Germany.

Some bits of this review will be also posted by us, along with a comparison against the Porsche Cayman S. Before we jump into the four minutes video, here is a short history on the new Z4 sDrive35i.

The new roadster outputs 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm. With a manual transmission, the new Z4 goes from still to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, just .1 second slower than the old Z4 M. The sDrive35i weighs around 3,400 lbs. The new Z4 was designed by Juliane Blasi and Nadya Arnaout.

Z4 SDrive35i from www.mt-video.de.vu on Vimeo.

The famous german tuner AC Schnizter announces the world premiere of their own version of the new BMW Z4 Roadster. The first teaser photos were released back in May, but today, we have a full photo gallery along with all the technical specifications.

Starting with the engine, AC Schnitzer removes the speed limited and the 3.0 liter twin-turbo engine achieves now 177 mph (286 km/h). The open-top roadster from BMW accelerates from a standing start to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 4.9 seconds. Power has been raised from the standard 306 horsepower to 360. At the same time, maximum torque achieved by the AC Schnizter Z4 is 383 lb-ft (520 Nm), a significant increased when compared to the standard (295 lb-ft) 400 Nm.

AC Schnizter upgrades the suspension variant in the Z4 with a new spring kit.

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Our friend Jonathan Spira over at ExecutiveRoadWarrior is currently enjoying an exciting trip into the Austrian Land and to make this trip even more interesting, he decided to experience the famous austrian vineyards behind the wheel of a new BMW Z4 sDrive23i.

Here is a short summary on the austrian vineyards: “While Austria is synonymous to many for music and culture, its wines don’t have the renown that those of other European countries have.  Austria has, however, 51,213 hectares of vineyards, mostly in the eastern part of the country.

I’m visiting  the province of Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), which has over 31,000 hectares of vineyards, to be followed by a visit to Vienna (over 600 hectares but it’s the only capital city in the world to have its own wine region) and then I will visit the Burgenland, which has over 15,000 hectares.”

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The previous generation BMW Z4 is still a head-turner. The E85 platform has been and still is considered by BMW enthusiasts one of the most fun rides to own. While the discussion focus has been lately on the new, redesigned E89 Z4 Roadster, there are bimmer fans out there craving for an older Z4.

Manhart Racing, a German company known for “pumping up” the power in cars by replacing the original engine with a more powerful one, decided to give a present to the Z4 fans. Taking a stock Z4, Manhart managed to turn it into a powerful Z4 M featuring a V10 powerplant.

The 5.0 liter V10 engine from the M5 produces 550 horsepower and takes the tuned up Z4 M from 0 to 60 mph in JUST 3.9 seconds.

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We have just learned that BMW issued a recall of some 2009 BMW Z4 models, both variants: sDrive35i and sDrive30i. The recall notice doesn’t specify how many vehicles have been recalled, but it mentions the reason: a defective crimp connected in a belt tensioner wiring plug.

The defective connector may lead to increased electrical resistance of that connection which could cause the seat belt tensioner to fail deploying in a crash.

A similar recall was issued last month for some 2008 1 Series and 3 Series models. For more information on the recall and contact phone numbers, please see the text below:

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Jeremy Clarkson likes the new BMW Z4!!! Yes, a shocker to us as well, but we kinda got over that feeling when we read his first review last month on Times Online. As many Top Gear fans might have noticed over the years, Mr. Clarkson has not been a huge BMW fan, except the M3 and M3 Coupe, his reviews could be classified as…..bitter.

Even at the beginning of his new review, he makes it clear that he absolutely didn’t like the old Z4, a statement that many BMW fans would disagree with, but that’s another story…..

So what made him change his mind this time around? “The best thing about this car is how it feels to drive….” and to make us smile a bit, “it’s sorta Uma Thurmanish……PERFECT!”

But one of his closing statements really nails it and BMW can only be happy they managed to satisfy even one of their biggest critic: “And today I would buy a Z4 over a Mercedes SLK in a heart beat…..”

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The new BMW Z4 draws attention to itself not just on the road but also among internationally renowned design experts. Just a few weeks after its market launch, the Roadster has now received the International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) 2009 in the USA.

The award is presented annually by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), based in Duelles in the state of Virginia. The BMW Z4 received the bronze award, thus continuing the success story of BMW Group vehicles in this competition. Since 2000, nine vehicles of the brands BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad have been recognised for their outstanding design.

The new BMW Z4 impressed the jury with a design which unmistakably and authentically reflects the driving pleasure characteristic of the roadster. With its long bonnet, long wheelbase, large wheels and short overhangs, the two-seater possesses classic roadster proportions which are interpreted in a modern way with a styling which is characteristic of the brand.

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