BMW Z3 Introduction

BMW Z4 M Roadster and M Coupe
Those M cars used the S54 3.2-litre six-cylinder engine. The equivalent Z3 models did too, but in the case of the later cars maximum power was up to 343bhp, the same as in the 2000-2006 M3.

By a small margin, that was the highest output of any production Z4 in this or the following generation.

Concept Coupe Mille Miglia
The Z4 M Coupe was the basis for a very special one-off car unveiled in 2006. This was the Concept Coupe Mille Miglia, named after the northern Italian road race won by Huschke von Hanstein (1911-1996) in a streamlined BMW 328 in April 1940, two months before Italy joined World War 2.

The concept, which was longer, wider and lower than the standard Z4, made its debut at the 2006 Mille Miglia retrospective. The body panels were made of carbonfibre-reinforced plastic, and the headlights were flat LED units.

BMW Z4 (2009-2016)
The second Z4 was the first car of this type since the Z1 to be built in Germany rather than the USA. All production took place in Regensburg, leaving the Spartanburg facility to get on with building exclusively SUVs, which it does to this day to the tune of 450,000 a year.

This was also the first BMW with two women in charge of design, Juliane Blasi being responsible for the exterior and Nadya Arnaout for the interior.

Z4 differences
Two Z model traditions started during the days of the Z3 ended now. Separate coupe and roadster models were no longer available; all versions were, fashionably for the time and in response to customer demand, coupe-convertibles, with powered retracting roofs.

There were no M versions either. The most powerful engine was the N54, also used in the 1-Series M Coupe, which produced 335bhp, not far short of the previous generation M cars’ 343bhp.