By
EWAN KENNEDY
17 April 2006
BMW has begun importation of its fastest roadster to Australia. The
Z4 M roadster (the ‘M’ stands for Motorsport, the performance car
division of the company) is virtually identical to the much revered M3
coupe under the skin. Except that it is 75 kg lighter and therefore even
faster. It can reach 100 km/h from rest in just 5.0 seconds on its way
to an electronically limited speed of 250 km/h.
The odd thing is that this highly
desirable sports car almost didn’t get built at all. BMW originally
considered it would be too close to the M3 coupe and that sales would be
cannibalised from that model. But, after unrelenting demands from
customers the company relented and the decision was made to build the Z4
M roadster after all.
Cynically, it can also be said that the
M3 coupe is nearing the end of its life in its current format and it’s
an open secret that the next one will have V8 power. Which would have
left a gaping hole in the BMW range, a hole that’s now been plugged by
the Z4 M. Even closer to the existing M3 coupe in concept is the
upcoming Z4 coupe, a car that will be launched towards the end of 2006.
Featuring a 3.2-litre straight-six engine
that has won numerous awards for its design, the Z4 M roadster has a
whopping 252 kW, or 340 horsepower available at the flywheel.
The only transmission on offer is a
conventional six-speed manual, the SMG self-shifting manual being too
large to fit into under the tight floor of the Z4. This is probably a
good thing as this is very much a pure sports machine and the road-car
SMG is still a bit of a compromise compared to similar units fitted in
full-on racing cars.
Obviously that sort of power also
required a serious revamping of the existing Z4 ‘chassis’. This
involves special suspension components that sit the car 10 mm closer to
the road. There's also a new design of limited-slip differential. A
sports variant of BMW's DSC traction control system has been developed
for the M roadster. Wheels are a specific design for this car and are
alloy units with a diameter of 18 inches.
Interestingly, BMW has reverted to
hydraulically assisted power steering instead of using the electric
assistance seen in the rest of the Z4 range. Feeling that the car has
even more precision by using this setup.
The M roadster’s brakes are large
all-ventilated units borrowed from the lightweight CSL variant of the
BMW M3.
Appearance changes see a revised front
grille and air intake, four exhaust tailpipes and, of course, M badges.
Our initial drive of the BMW Z4 M
roadster was truncated by unforeseen circumstances at the press launch,
so we can’t comment fully on it at this stage. Our brief drive shows
it has huge acceleration that makes for very safe overtaking, it corners
precisely at speeds that are guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of
even the most demanding of drivers, and has brakes that make your eyes
bulge forward. All of which is achieved whilst maintaining a reasonably
comfortable ride.
We plan to get hold of another car as
soon as possible and will bring you a full road test then. In fact even
if we had managed a proper drive yesterday we would still lust after
another one to test for a week – the Z4 M roadster is the sort of car
you just don’t want to get out of…
