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2009 BMW Z4 to debut at Detroit Auto Show; we have pictures, info and specs now
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There’s something you should know. When it comes to the BMW Z4, you’re not the most important part of the combination. You never were, you aren’t now and you won’t be with the new Z4 debuting at the North American International (Detroit) Auto Show on January 11. But if you are a true sports car enthusiast, you already knew that.
What you know now is that BMW has released information and photos of the next generation of BMW’s concept of a Z-car and it’s clear that although much has changed, some things are the same as they’ve always been. Most obviously changed is the new skin. The crisp lines of Chris Bangle’s notorious “flame surface” design remain but they’re no longer driven by body cutlines or other extranea, but rather the lines are more horizontal. The crease along the bottom of the door actually starts on the bumper. It sweeps back, leaping the open front wheel well and continuing on up the side.
The front end of the Z4 has a lower, more aggressive look and the crease on the rear fenders emphasize the contours of a modern interpretation of a traditional sports car, and for better or worse, the duck tail rear spoiler returns.The interior matches the exterior. To either side of the steering wheel are controls for lights and air conditioning and these areas of the dash can be surfaced in Satin Silver matte, brushed aluminum or ash grain wood. Or as part of an Ivory White Leather Package, finished in white Nappa leather (along with sport seats and Anthracite wood trim). Like the BMW convertibles, the roadsters’ leather is treated to have heat rejection properties for fewer fried thighs when the car is left out in the sun with the top down.
Speaking of which…for the first time, the Z4 gets a retractable hardtop, the first two generations having fabric lids. The new light-weight two-piece aluminum-shell top nestles snugly under the trunklid, going up or down in only 20 seconds. The hardtop means quieter touring when the top is up but it also gives a lot more top-up visibility, Compared to its cloth predecessor, the hardtop’s side windows are 40 percent bigger and the rear window 52 percent larger.
The new design means two windows per side and all can be raised and lower individually. Or with optional “Comfort Access,” the top can be raised or lowered outside of the car by using the remote key fob.
The roofline is higher on the new Z4 and the door openings are bigger, making entry and exit easier and providing more room inside. And at last someone has added a skosh more room in a roadster, behind the seats so that absolutely everything doesn’t have to go into the trunk or in the passenger’s lap.Like other BMW retractable hardtops, the Z4 roadsters have a moveable trunk partition, designed to keep cargo from interfering with stowing the roof. With the top raised, the trunk has a volume of 10.9 cu ft, lowered it’s 6.4 cu ft. Thanks to what BMW calls a “through-loading system” to the passenger compartment, a standard 46-inch full-size golf bag will fit even with the top down. Raise the top and two can be put in the trunk. BMW also says that with the top up the trunk “easily accommodates up to four crates of large bottles.” That’s a rather nebulous description. Tells us something useful, like how many cases of long-necks.
In addition to the usual bits in the cold weather package, the new BMW Z4 gets nets on the backs of the seats and in the passenger footwell, “lashing belts”—ve haf vays—in the trunk and an additional storage box in the trunk area.
But enough on stowage. Under the lid at the other end of the car is one of two available six-cylinder in-line engines, a naturally-aspirated 3.0-liter and a twin-turbo three-liter. The 2009 BMW Z4 sDrive30i, as BMW calls the model without the two blowers is the familiar unit used in BMW’s coupes, sedans and convertibles. The engine weighs a mere 335 pounds, thanks to a composite magnesium/aluminum crankcase and other tricks, but it puts out 255 horsepower and 220 lb-ft of torque. BMW says it’s enough to drive the sDrive30i from zero to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds with the six-speed manual transmission. Top speed is electronically to 130 mph, or 150 with the optional Sport package.A paddle-shiftable six-speed sport automatic transmission is available with this engine as well. The automatic, says BMW, takes little from the sDrive30i’s performance thanks to a torque converter with a built-in torsion damper which takes the slack out of the drive train. With the automatic, time to sixty increases a smidge to 6.0 seconds.
The model with the twin-turbocharged six is the BMW sDrive35i, again familiar to BMW buffs. The six-cylinder’s two turbos each work exclusively with three cylinders—it’s in the contract—for rapid response and for a very broad torque band, staying at peak from 1400 to 5000 rpm. We’ve driven this engine in other BMWs and it feels much stronger than its peak 300 horsepower suggests.
A special short-throw six-speed manual transmission is standard in the BMW Z4 sDrive35i, but optional is BMW’s new seven-speed double-clutch sport automatic. BMW says a roadster with the seven-speed is quicker than with the manual. Zero-to-sixty takes only 5.0 seconds with the seven-speed but a mind-numbing 5.1 seconds with the manual gearbox because the double-clutch transmission can change gears “without the slightest interruption of power,” per BMW.The new Z4 gets electric power steering, perhaps proving that the feature is coming of age.
Brakes for the sDrive35i are vented discs front and rear, 14.4 diameter front and 13.7 inch for the rear; the sDrive30i discs are only slightly smaller. The standard-equipment stability control system not only activates ABS and engine power reduction but also activates the brake drying and brake standby functions. BMW also trusts the driver with the driving option of changing the response threshold of the stability control to allow more wheelspin when, for example, setting off in loose snow, or the stability control can be shut off completely (ABS remains active) if the driver chooses.
An optional Sport Package has “Adaptive M Suspension with Electronic Damping Control.” A central controller unit varies the compression and rebound on the shocks depending on driving conditions, BMW claiming response time is so fast that a front wheel hitting a pothole will readjust the rear dampers before the rear wheels get there.
BMW’s optional Dynamic Drive Control can be shifted from “Normal” to “Sport” to “Sport+”. Sport mode offers more-direct steering and quicker throttle response, for example. In Sport+, the Dynamic Traction Control mode of DSC is engaged. This intentionally allows slight wheelspin so the Z4
can be taken around a curve in a controlled drift.
can be taken around a curve in a controlled drift.But while speaking of controls, iDrive is back. Well, not back, really, just making its debut in the Z4, and this time, BMW promises, it will be better than before. We’ll reserve judgment until a test drive of the system (which we’ve never thought was that bad, contrary to some of our colleague’s complaints, for anyone who spends more than a bit of time with it).
The iDrive system is one way of raising the driver’s priority status, but still, the driver comes out second best to the mechanical bits: Typically in a sports car, the engine goes in the middle—whether in front or behind driver, the driver accommodating the machine. In a front-engined sports car like the Z4, positioning the engine for a near 50/50 weight distribution puts the driver back by the rear axle, back where the back seat would usually be. But in the case of the Z4, because it’s a BMW, it should be worth the effort. It’s has before. We’ll let you know.
| sDrive30i | sDrive35i | |||
| Engine | 3.0L DOHC I-6 | 3.0L DOHC I-6 | ||
| Induction | Naturally aspirated | Twin-turbo | ||
| Injection | Port | Direct | ||
| Horsepower @ rpm | 255 @ 6600 | 300 @ 5800 | ||
| Torque, lb-ft @ rpm | 220 @ 2600 | 300 @ 1400-5000 | ||
| Compression ratio | 10.7:1 | 10.2:1 | ||
| Fuel requirement | Premium | |||
| Fuel econ., EPA city/hwy mpg | To be determined | |||
| Transmission | 6M | 6A | 6M | 7A |
| Drivetrain layout | Front engine, rear drive | |||
| Brakes, disc dia., in., front/rear | 11.8/1.8 | 13.7/12.8 | ||
| Wheels, front/rear, inches | 17 x 8.0 | |||
| Tires, front / rear | 225/14R17 | |||
| Wheelbase, inches | 98.3 | |||
| Length, inches | 166.9 | |||
| Width, inches | 70.5 | |||
| Heigth, inches | 50.8 | |||
| Trunk cap., cu ft, top down/up | 6.4/10.9 | |||
| Curb weight, pounds | 3241 | 3307 | 3450 | 3494 |
| Acceleration, 0-60 mph, sec. | 5.6 | 6.0 | 5.1 | 5.0 |
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