08-20-2018, 02:33 PM | #23 | |
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Zs have never managed to hit the spot? Have you ever see or driven a BMW Z3? Modern day BMW roadster with classic proportions, minimalist but classy interior, pure, simple, lightweight roadster with soft-top that weighs less than 3,000 lbs even in M guise with an iron-block, 325HP inline 6 motor boasting 6 individual throttle bodies? The BMW M division's decision to stuff the greatest inline 6 ever built in the SMALLEST BMW in the line-up and said "f**k you" to the bean counters? Or the Z8 that harkens back to the most beautiful BMW ever built, the great 507 of yesteryear, that most still consider the best looking BMW to come from Chris Bangle's oversight*? A massive, V8 powered ALL ALUMINUM bodied roadster with long, swooping lines, the pure essence of open road cruising that defined the classic roadster genre brought back to life? Sheer open air elegance that no other BMW has managed to match since? Lines so sexy it prompted some journalist to utter "if it was a woman, I'd f**k it" in private? Even the FIRST generation of the Z4 was nothing short of a thrilling execution of modern "roadster"-ism. Quick, nimble, tossible and lightweight (again, sub 3,000 lbs for a modern post Y2K car) packed with modern suspension underpinning, that could and would run circles around its BMW "big brothers" in a wide variety of motorsport applications, such as canyon carving, auto-cross, or even track events that involves turning left AND right? One of the most satisfying BMW chassis to drive, and outside of the late E9x M3, the LAST of the analog BMW's built up until 2008? BMW Z has never managed to hit the spot? BMW Zs have always been the REAL definition of roadsters IMO. And that's always been part of the problem. The true "enthusiast" roadster market was never big to start with. Nor do the market care for high-end, top dollar roadsters like the BMW and the Merc SL/SLK, especially TODAY. This isn't a market that a $60K roadster can support, unless it happens to be a Porsche since the Boxster variant has always had a market as the "cheapest Porsche you can buy." I suspect the Boxster/Cayman sales has always been strong not because they're roadsters, but because they're CHEAP Porsches (relatively speaking). * Yes I am WELL aware that the Z8 was penned by Henrik Fisker, not Chris Bangle.
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08-21-2018, 03:44 AM | #24 | |
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I wish they would make a real GT4 fighter but history has shown BMW is not interested in making a serious sports car. We should also admit the Z3M and Z4M were slightly compromised by iffy suspension setups and tires (Z4M) from the factory. They just didn't try hard enough. You have to do better than reaching into the 3 series parts bin if you want to be the best car in the segment. |
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08-22-2018, 09:15 AM | #25 | |
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true story. |
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08-22-2018, 05:36 PM | #26 | |
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The Z3 M and Z4 M are what they are. They're M cars derived from their run of the mill counterparts, just like M3s derive most of it's parts from the run of the mill 3 series. In the case of the Z3 M, as the Z3 was introduced in 1997 and was designed to use the single trailing arm design to save weight, money, and fit the compact rear subframe, they had to take the parts and design from the E30 to fit. So when the M variant of the Z3 was made, it was stuck with the single rear trailing arm design for the rear suspension rather than the multi-link rears in the E36 M3. There were no compromises to be made, but the constraints of what the regular Z3 chassis afforded. The Z4 M was basically assembled from taking the rear end from the E46 M3 and the front end of the E36 M3, both at the time, the best parts bin parts BMW has to offer. But, since the chassis for the Z4 is built in Spartanburg, South Carolina, unlike the E46 M3 which is built in Regensburg Germany, the Z4 M is constrained to the tire available at Spartanburg for the size that it required, which is Continental ContiSportContact 2s. While the Regensburg plant in Germany had access to both Continental ContiSportContact 2 AND Michelin Pilot Sport 2s at the time due to it's location. Some E46 M3 won the tire lottery and were equipped with Michelins, some were equipped with Contis. While ALL Z4 Ms were equipped with Contis because they came from South Carolina, constrained by what is available at the plant. If Z4s were built in Germany like the rest of the E46 line-up, chances would have been good that Z4 Ms would have been like E46 M3s, some coming with Michelins, some coming with Contis as those were the two suppliers BMW uses for the 225/45/18 and 255/40/18 non-runflat tires. Memory is a little hazy, as I recall on the E46 M3s if you ordered 19" wheels, you're virtually guaranteed Michelins because Continental did not supply tires in that size for non-runflats for BMW.
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08-23-2018, 03:32 AM | #27 | |
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09-26-2018, 12:18 AM | #28 |
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Time for BMW to grow a pair and build a real sports car again. My M2 is great, but I love my E86 M Coupe. A modern M Coupe with an S55 would be BMW's sweet spot.
Look at all the love that Supra is getting. It's a re-badged Z4 Coupe. Make an M version with the S55 and blow them out of the water. |
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10-01-2018, 10:04 AM | #29 |
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BMW NEEDs to do the Z4 iM.
They have a 14k rev in-line 4 for the HP4 Race bike. Throw that in their with the i8s electric motor and a light weight gear box. They would go perfect together. The emotor making up for the bike engines low torque and the bike engines power taking over as it revs up. About 330hp but make it light weight and spartan with e85 style suspension with a stick. Instant classic 38 mpg plus the emotor. This would be huge. |
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10-03-2018, 10:25 AM | #30 | |
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10-04-2018, 03:30 AM | #31 |
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They need to shut it and bring 6MT on it already.
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