HYPNOTIZED by the sea blue BMW that slipped into my parking space a few weeks ago, I stopped wondering about how fast this test car would go or whether it could stop at all. You should do the same.
But if you insist on details and are given to using words like downforce and stoichiometry, be assured that the 2010 edition of the Z4 is plenty fast and halts like a drill instructor.
Will it describe an asphalt arc as mathematically as the Porsche Boxster? No. But here’s the dirty little secret of luxury convertibles: most buyers don’t do math.
For those who would consider dropping $50,000 or even $60,000 on a two-seat driveway ornament, this is what matters: the BMW is beautiful, inside and out. It’s the most luxurious convertible this side of a $100,000 Jaguar XKR or Mercedes-Benz SL550. The exterior makes the Porsche Boxster seem a bit played-out; the interior makes a Corvette’s look like recycled duct tape.
If you don’t believe me, ask my wife. She drove the Z4 to the corner bodega and pronounced it her new favorite car even before she shifted out of second gear. Add her to the week’s worth of women and men who flirted with the BMW, smitten by its mile-long hood and sophisticated creases and cavities.
The new Z4 is undoubtedly one of the best do-overs in recent years, a confident, muscular reinvention by Juliane Blasi and Nadya Arnaout of BMW’s Munich design studio. The previous generation of the Z4 was cloyingly overstyled, arguably the least successful design by Chris Bangle, who has stepped down as BMW’s design chief. And with an exception for the brilliant M Coupe version, that earlier Z4 also fell short in arousing passion for many drivers.
The new car, now with a retractable metal roof rather than a soft top, soothes rather than strains the eye. And it is more engaging to drive, especially with the twin-turbo in-line 6 as was the case in the sDrive35i version I tested.
BMW has moved Z4 production across the Atlantic, transferring assembly from the American South — Spartanburg, S.C. — to the southern German city of Regensburg. It also slid the Z4 toward the decadent end of the two-seat spectrum.
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