BMW Z4 sDrive35iS
Hairdryer. Hardly. Not with this much power. Anyway, wasn't that label meant for the Z3? Is this evolution or revolution?
BMW's Z4 in sDrive35iS form seems to fit the bill. In metallic black it looks the part. Sensual lines, a good looking car both top down or metal roof up. The real question is whether the monicker is still justified. It all started with the Z3. Slightly effeminate, but good looking. Perhaps it was too good looking? It also was way more show than go. Even with good old James Bond driving one it was left with a limp-wristed persona. Two generations on, Z3 is no more. Z4 got the aforementioned hard top in a successful coupe-convertible transformerish guise.
To make this one go they brought out a special version. And they gave it a real engine. This 3 litre gets some real grunt. 250kW and 450Nm. That is some serious push in a relatively lightweight two seater. Mated to a seven speed double clutch auto box. This makes for a sub 5 second 0-100 time. That was the exclusive territory of super cars until very recently.
Power without control would be pointless and often is. All that grunt and no way to harness it would be a bit pointless as several he-man cars have taught us over the years. How does the BM do? Superbly. The vast nose of the car points exactly where you want it to. While it is not the simple fun car that its cousin the 135i convertible is, it is seriously fast, quick-witted, and most importantly, predictable and sure footed at high speed. This car communicates the road superbly to the driver. As for the engine noise, in full sport the noise is addictive and soulful. Down changes are hooked just for the aural delight of it. Want to swing the back out and hold it there? Just become friends with the loud pedal. That’s right, whatever you tell the throttle to do is communicated through the seat of your pants as the back of the car swings around dutifully in response.
The low seating position is more akin to sports car than sedan made convertible, and that is its reality. The seating position and the difficulty getting in and out, particularly with the roof up remind you that you are in something special. It gives it a sense of occasion that perhaps more mundane BMWs lose out on.
While eating up endless ribbons of mountain pass tarmac is embedded in its soul, it does the more mundane job of cruising the beachfront with billowing cascades of hair with aplomb too. Serious head turning is firmly on the menu. The convertible aspect has that certain something that a sedan with the roof chopped off never will.
