BMW Z4
Encyclopedia
The BMW Z4 is a rear-wheel drive sports car
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....

 by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 car maker BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

. It follows a line of past BMW roadsters
Roadsters
Roadsters is a racing game that was released by Titus Software in 2000 for the Nintendo 64, Playstation, Sega Dreamcast and Gameboy Color. It is a car racing game that features both licensed cars from manufacturers and unlicensed cars from imaginary manufacturers that are based and bare great...

 such as the BMW Z1
BMW Z1
The BMW Z1 was a two-seat roadster developed by BMW and produced from March 1989 to June 1991. The Z1 featured doors which dropped down into the door sills. A total of 8,000 cars were produced.-History:...

, BMW 507
BMW 507
The BMW 507 is a roadster produced by BMW from 1956 to 1959. Initially intended to be exported to the United States at a rate of thousands per year, it ended up being too expensive, resulting in a total production figure of 252 cars and heavy losses for BMW....

, BMW Z8
BMW Z8
The BMW Z8 was a roadster car produced by German automaker BMW from 1999-2003. It was given the E52 BMW model code.The Z8 was the production variant of the 1997 Z07 concept car, which was designed by Henrik Fisker at BMW's DesignworksUSA in Southern California. The Z07 originally was designed as a...

, and the BMW Z3
BMW Z3
The BMW Z3 was the first modern mass-market roadster produced by BMW, as well as the first new BMW model assembled in the United States. The Z3 was introduced as a 1996 model year vehicle, shortly after being featured in the James Bond movie,...

. The Z4 replaces the Z3
BMW Z3
The BMW Z3 was the first modern mass-market roadster produced by BMW, as well as the first new BMW model assembled in the United States. The Z3 was introduced as a 1996 model year vehicle, shortly after being featured in the James Bond movie,...

. First generation production started in 2002 at BMW USA's Greer, South Carolina
Greer, South Carolina
Greer is a city in Greenville and Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, between the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg. The population was 25,515 at the 2010 census. It is projected to hit 30,000 within 4 years. Each day, more than three times that number of people pass...

 plant, with production of both roadster and coupe forms. When debuted, it won Automobile Magazine
Automobile Magazine
Automobile magazine is an automobile magazine in the United States and is owned by Source Interlink. It was founded by a group of former employees of Car and Driver magazine, led by that publications’s former editor, David E. Davis, and originally published by News Corporation...

 "Design of the Year Award". Starting with the 2009 model year, the second-generation Z4 is built at BMW's Regensburg, Germany plant as a retractable hardtop roadster. In 2009, the BMW Z4 won the Red Dot Design Award
Red dot design award
The Red Dot Design Award is an international product design prize awarded by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany. There are prize categories for product design, design agencies, and design concepts. Since 1955, designers and producers can apply for the prizes with the winners...

.

First generation (E85)

The first-generation BMW Z4 was designated the E85 in roadster
Roadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...

 form and E86 in coupé
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...

 form. It was designed by Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 BMW-designer Anders Warming
Anders Warming
Anders Warming is a Danish automotive designer working for BMW AG. He is the new chief of Design for the Mini division of BMW. He was recently the chief of exterior design for BMW from 2007 to the end of 2010.- Education and early career :...

.

From 2003 the Z4 Roadster is available as a 3.0i (3.0 L I6 with 231 hp), a 3.0si available with the new generation 3.0 L I6 with 265 hp , a 2.5si with a 2.5 I6 with 218 bhp, a 2.2i with a straight-6 170 bhp engine, or a 2.0i with a 150 bhp 2.0 L I4. The Z4 coupé is available only in the high-performance 3.0si trim powered by the 3.0 L 255 hp I6. The Z4 (E85 Roadster/E86 Coupe) was built at the Greer plant
BMW Manufacturing Co. Spartanburg
The BMW US Manufacturing Company in Greer, South Carolina is BMW's only US production facility. It was built to serve the demand of BMW automobiles directly in the US...

.

Z4 M Roadster

The Z4 M is powered by a 3.2-litre straight-six engine (S54B32). Performance figures are: 3,246 cc displacement, 333 bhp at 7,900 rpm, 269 lbft of torque at 4,900 rpm, 8,000 rpm redline
Redline
Redline refers to the maximum engine speed at which an internal combustion engine or traction motor and its components are designed to operate without causing damage to the components themselves or other parts of the engine...

.
Output per litre is 107 bhp , and power-to-weight ratio is 9.9 lb/bhp. Acceleration to 60 mph (96km/h) comes in 4.8 seconds. (0-62mph / 100km/h is 5.0) and top speed is limited electronically to 156 mi/h.

Second generation (E89)

The vehicle was originally announced December 13, 2008. The vehicle was unveiled in 2009 North American International Auto Show
North American International Auto Show
The North American International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center, usually in January. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...

 in Detroit. This time a coupé-convertible with folding hardtop, the Z4 (E89) will be built in Regensburg alongside the (E93) 3-Series Cabrio, likely due to the U.S. plant needing more room for SUV production. It moved upmarket, dropping the small four-cylinder base engine.

External links

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