BMW Z4 M Roadster 2006 Review

Australian launch

Northern NSW

April 2006

The ordering process is going to be relatively easy. For a start there’s only one option to tick -- a $450 exterior folding mirror package (Get the dealer to chuck it in FOC!!!)… That said, there’s always the complication of picking your paint colour and interior trim – the choice of eight exterior colours and inside, Walnut Madeira Chestnut brown, alloy or Black leather carbon structure, phew!

The rest is mandated by the fast burgers at M, BMW’s Motorsport performance division and the local operation. But trust us, have they got things just right.

CarPoint’s man in Europe Jon Hawley drove the $129,500 Z4M at its launch in Spain in February
(click here for CarPoint’s full international launch coverage) for CarPoint’s full international launch coverage) Right from that time we’ve been waiting for our chance to get our hands on the hottest two-seater convertible the Bavarians build.

Why? Because we’re unapologetic fans of the M3 in its various guises and the Z4M promised to deliver the very best parts of the performance coupe in an even more seminal form. We weren’t disappointed.

The Z4M is one of those rare cars where less is more. It doesn’t necessarily have the chassis refinement of the M3, nor the technological marvel that is the latest SMG sequential gearbox (it won’t fit in the Z4’s more compact floor pan. Its suspension system is Z4-based – a simplified version of the multi-link independent set-up the 3 Series cars can boast. Its gearbox is a conventional six-speed manual. Oh and there’s two less seats.

It does however get the good stuff: the M3’s stunningly competent and deliciously raucous 252kW inline six-cylinder engine; the M3 CSL and Comp Pack’s  stop NOW(!!!) dinnerplate-sized four-wheel discs and ‘clever’ locking M differential; plus a raft of M goodies from re-tuned ABS to the trademark electronic tachometer which alters the redline as the engine warms to the job.

And don’t worry for a minute it’ll be mistaken for a stock Z4. From the shark-like front end with more aggressive splitter, recessed blacked-out grille and under-bumper intakes across the precision lined bonnet with power dome and on to the rear with touring car style diffuser and signature quad pipes, it’s a very different animal.

One would never describe the standard z4 as feminine but locked down on its 10mm lower suspension (than the Sport-sprung Z4) with its wider track, big wheels and heavily cambered suspension front and rear, the Z4M makes the stocker look almost prissy. This is one downright mean looking roadster -- more Cobra replica than Sprite, for sure.

It drives like it looks too, though with a surprising dose of civility. Off the line performance is electric and the six wails as you expect. Top down’s an aural event.

Our man Hawley opined the ride was quite stiff but that “BMW's uncanny knack of selecting damper rates might mean an acceptable degree of compliance.” He was spot on. On Aussie roads, even bumpy ones, the car’s stance is extremely well controlled and despite low-profile rubber rides better than the standard 3.0-litre Z4.

The giant step forward in chassis terms is not the ride nor the brakes (impressive as they are) nor the huge levels of grip. Rather it’s the steering – conventional hydraulically-assisted rack and pinion lifted from the M3.

Combined with the smaller-diameter thick-rimmed multi-function M wheel, the communication between driver and front wheels is 1000 per cent better than the standard car. The engine-speed dependent system (the standard Z4 uses road speed dependent electric assistance) delivers feedback on straight ahead and weights nicely as you wind on the lock. There’s never any doubt what’s happening up front – good news when you’ve got all those neddies available.

Turn-in is precise but not as sharp as you’d think. With the traction available from the wide rear rubber and mechanical limited slip M-fettled differential the Z4M the car rewards a traditional ‘slow in (very) fast out’ approach. In-gear acceleration is impressive too -- even on the short straights of the sinuous local launch route go to gaol speeds are only an ankle twitch away.

As we pointed out in our international launch coverage, power addicts will embrace the Z4M but it’s not necessarily a car for all. As the M3 gets more refined and even more GT focused (the next model eschews six-cylinders for an M5 V10-based V8) the Z4M fills the gap left for a true hairy-chested sportscar. Mind you you’ll have to be quick, BMW will get just 30 Z4M Roadsters this year. At least the lighter (and one would safely assume even faster) Coupe is also on its way.

We loved the rawness of the original M Roadster and its ‘bread van’ Coupe stablemate. With standard equipment including great seats, interior equipment upgrades, lashings of leather, top of the line sound system, navigation, alarm, Park Distance Control and the full BMW complement of driver aids and safety equipment, the Z4M is much more polished than its predecessors, yet retains enough ‘mongrel’ to scratch the same itch and whet the appetite of hotrodders and sportscar nuts alike.

The clincher? Not only is the Z4M priced over $10,000 cheaper than the M3 in its base form, but the latest M-car is actually cheaper than its Z3-based predecessor. Undiluted European performance never came cheaper….