If you ask me what sports cars were the hottest in the past few years, in terms of "keyboard popularity" on the Internet, there must be a place for the Toyota Supra. But today our protagonist is not the Toyota Supra, but the new BMW Z4, which shares the platform with the new generation Toyota Supra.
When it comes to the BMW Z4, perhaps young friends will only think of the image of a handsome convertible. But for those who are a little older, the first impression of this car may be the BMW Z3roadster that appeared in Bond's movie "GoldenEye". The BMW Z4 is based on the BMW Z3, which is improved and replaced.
The history of the BMW Z series can be traced back to 1989, when BMW launched the first model of the Z series, the BMW Z1, which was powered by a 2.5-liter inline six-cylinder engine with a maximum horsepower of 170 hp and a top speed of 220 km/h. This may seem unremarkable now, but in 1989 it was staggering. Not to mention that the BMW Z1 uses a vertically lifted door opening method, and it is also BMW's first convertible with multi-link rear suspension.
Following the BMW Z1, in 1995, the BMW Z series ushered in the Z3 model, which will be more popular than the Z1, but the entire history of the Z3 model is not very long, and it was announced that it would be discontinued in 2002.
In 2003, the Z4 series was officially released, and in 2006, it officially entered the domestic market, launching two body forms: soft top convertible and hard top, and the highest model is equipped with a 3.0L inline-six naturally aspirated engine with a maximum horsepower of 265 horsepower.
The second-generation BMW Z4 is the Z4 model that we often see in the used car market, and it was released in 2009. Compared to the original model, the second-generation Z4 is longer, wider, and shorter, and everything goes in a sportier direction. The interior part uses a more stylish large screen and contrasting seats, which is more attractive to consumers.
The third-generation BMW Z4 is the protagonist of this article, it was officially unveiled in 2018, and it will be built on the same platform as Toyota Supra, in fact, I don't know if this is Toyota's light on BMW, or BMW has stolen the limelight from Toyota.
Recently, the BMW Z4 launched a manual transmission version of the M40i, which will be offered to users in the form of an optional package priced at $3,500 (about 25,000 yuan).
In terms of appearance, the new BMW Z4, as a mid-term facelift model, has not changed much from the previous version, and the main changes are concentrated in the front face. The grille part has been replaced with a new star curtain grille design, compared with the old model, the size has been increased, and the internal structure has also been replaced with a honeycomb shape. The shape of the lower envelope has not changed much, mainly because there are small changes in the interior details, and the internal modeling level of the air intakes on both sides is more obvious, and there will be more details, which will appear more refined.
As a convertible, the color of the paint is actually very important. The new BMW Z4 adds San Remo Green and Frozen Deep Green paints, giving consumers more color options.
On the side, the new wheels are 19-inch front and 20-inch rear. The side lines of the car are completely upward, highlighting the wide body behind it. In terms of body size, the Z4 measures 4336mm in length, 1867mm in width, 1322mm in height, and has a wheelbase of 2470mm.
The rear of the car is more exciting, the rear taillights are boomerang-shaped, the whole tail shape is very wide, there is a detail ducktail design above, and the surrounding below is more exaggerated than BMW's ordinary models, using a bilateral two-out design, if you change to four out or mid-mounted exhaust, I don't know if it will be more handsome.
The interior is available in five colours, Alcantara and leather. The new Z4 has a two-screen design, with a full LCD instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch center display. As a manual transmission model, the BMW Z4 has a very small gear knob shape, which makes me feel a bit like going back to the time when I was learning to drive in driving school.
The M40i model is equipped with M adaptive suspension, which has a shock absorber adjustment function, and the driver can choose between comfort or sports suspension.
In terms of power, the new car is equipped with a 3.0T inline six-cylinder turbocharged engine with a maximum power of 382 horsepower and a maximum torque of 500 Nm. In terms of zero hundred acceleration performance, the manual transmission model is slightly slower than the automatic transmission, which is 4.2s, but the performance is still very good, after all, as a fuel model, we can't demand it with the current power level of new energy vehicles.
The BMW Z4, as a classic convertible model, has been in its 21st year since the first generation model. In the new energy era, it is rumored on the Internet that the BMW Z4 may be discontinued in 2025. The future of the fourth generation of BMW Z4, even if there is, maybe its name will become iZ4, fuel vehicles in the current days are not easy, the introduction of the manual transmission model will be more cherished by us, after all, it is really to the "iZ4" era, the kind of driving pleasure we miss, will also be with our youth, gone forever.