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BMW's Bold New Z4 Strategy Revealed
Date Posted 07-25-2005
MUNICH — In light of plummeting sales of its current Z4, BMW is pulling ahead the face-lift of its roadster and adding a coupe version.
The coupe could be shown at September's Frankfurt show but won't be in showrooms before next summer.
The Z4 has been anything but a roaring success. After a promising start in 2002, demand soon began to crumble. By 2003, the crumbles turned into an avalanche. Last year, production was scaled back drastically from 56,589 to 35,136, and in the first five months of 2005, production was cut by another 28 percent.
If the coupe/hatchback for 2006 is well received, the next-generation Z4, dubbed E89 and due in 2009, will again spawn a fixed-head derivative. The E89 is about the same size as today's Z4 but is likely to wear a less controversial design with a wider track and more dynamic proportions. Beneath the skin, insiders predict such options as active steering, adjustable dampers, and the new twin-clutch transmission that is due to replace the sequential M gearbox. BMW's controversial iDrive is all but guaranteed.
Sources say BMW plans to offer four direct-injection engines: a 185-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder; a 231-hp, 2.5-liter straight six; a 321-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter six; and a high-revving normally aspirated 4.0-liter V8 that could develop 449 hp.
What this means to you: Might BMW finally have a worthy competitor to the Porsche Boxster and Mercedes SLK?
Date Posted 07-25-2005
MUNICH — In light of plummeting sales of its current Z4, BMW is pulling ahead the face-lift of its roadster and adding a coupe version.
The coupe could be shown at September's Frankfurt show but won't be in showrooms before next summer.
The Z4 has been anything but a roaring success. After a promising start in 2002, demand soon began to crumble. By 2003, the crumbles turned into an avalanche. Last year, production was scaled back drastically from 56,589 to 35,136, and in the first five months of 2005, production was cut by another 28 percent.
If the coupe/hatchback for 2006 is well received, the next-generation Z4, dubbed E89 and due in 2009, will again spawn a fixed-head derivative. The E89 is about the same size as today's Z4 but is likely to wear a less controversial design with a wider track and more dynamic proportions. Beneath the skin, insiders predict such options as active steering, adjustable dampers, and the new twin-clutch transmission that is due to replace the sequential M gearbox. BMW's controversial iDrive is all but guaranteed.
Sources say BMW plans to offer four direct-injection engines: a 185-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder; a 231-hp, 2.5-liter straight six; a 321-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter six; and a high-revving normally aspirated 4.0-liter V8 that could develop 449 hp.
What this means to you: Might BMW finally have a worthy competitor to the Porsche Boxster and Mercedes SLK?
