A world debut full of emotion precisely this is what BMW is presenting at the Frankfurt Motor Show: The BMW Z4 Coup Concept Car, more than any other exhibit, clearly represents and embodies the motto of the world's largest car show: the Thrill of Motoring.

Presenting this Concept Car, BMW is establishing new trends in terms of design, concepts, and technology. And with its performance truly outstanding in every respect, the Z4 Coup Concept Car clearly bears out all the classic values of the BMW brand. Considering the consistently growing market for high-profile premium sports cars, finally, the decision to build such an emotional two-seater Sports Coup as a regular production model is almost obvious.

Seduction, BMW tells us, is the name of the game in the modern roadster market. Demographic evidence and customer confessions suggest that hardly anyone actually needs a wind-in-the-hair car with a small trunk and just two seats, so people have a lot of time to stroke their chins, consult the position of the planets and think about the purchase. We aren't talking corn harvesters or fire trucks here. Buyers have to fall in love.

"The roadster market has always been volatile," BMW's Klaus Borgman told us at the launch of the new Z4 near Alicante, Spain. "Roadsters are an emotional purchase," he said, "so sales depend on what's offered at the time. It's the concept that decides."

And this year BMW has decided to broaden the concept by restyling the Z4 and offering a little more space and luxury, along with an all-season retractable hardtop thereby replacing the previous Z4 Coupe and Roadster with a single, do-everything model.

Z3 was the first modern BMW roadster, as well as the first new BMW car assembled in the United States. BMW Z3 was introduced as a 1996 model year vehicle, shortly after being featured in the James Bond movie, GoldenEye. There were a few variants of the car before its production run ended in 2002, including a coupé version for 1999. It was manufactured and assembled in Spartanburg, South Carolina. BMW Z3 was replaced by the BMW Z4 introduced in late 2002 at the Paris Auto Show.

BMW Z3 was developed from the E36 platform of the BMW 3 Series. The resulting platform is sometimes referred to as the E36/7(roadster) or E36/8(coupé). The rear semi-trailing arm suspension from the E30 was used rather than the more sophisticated multilink suspension from the E36. At first, only the 1.9 L M44B19 straight-4 engine was offered, but its 138 hp (103 kW) was not up to buyers' expectations. Interior appointments too were not up to the standard of other BMW models, and the plastic rear window looked poor compared to the glass unit found on the much less expensive 1999 Mazda MX5.

This year's Z4 has been redesigned for 2009. The previous generation's creases have been smoothed out, and a newly redesigned rear end addresses the complaints about the previous generation's design. The biggest difference from last year is the absence of a cloth soft-top. BMW did away with the separate coupe and convertible and now only offers a power-folding hard top.

The 2009 BMW Z4 roadster is available in two trims, sDrive30i and sDrive35i. The 30i comes with a 3.0L inline-6-cylinder engine that makes 255 hp and 220 lb-feet of torque, while the 35i comes with a twin-turbocharged version of the same engine, making 300 hp and 300 lb-feet of torque. Both engines are mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, and a 6-speed Steptronic dual-clutch transmission with steering wheel shift paddles is optional.

After a lengthy and successful run, the first generation Z4 will bow out this winter to make way for a new and improved model for 2009. Completely redesigned the new Z4 will be available with two engines and several transmission choices.
The Z4 sDrive35i will make use of BMWs fabulous twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six powerplant, which boasts 300hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque, and the sDrive30i will come equipped with a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter inline-six (the same one found in the 328) that produces a respectable 255hp and 220 ft-lbs of torque.
Both vehicles come standard with a six-speed manual transmission and each have different optional transmissions: the sDrive30i an optional six-speed automatic and the sDrive35i with the seven-speed double-clutch system first offered on the M3!
Acceleration wise, the sDrive30i will hit 60 mph in 5.6 seconds (or 6.0 seconds with the automatic) whereas the sDrive35i will blast to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds (or an even more impressive 5.0 seconds with the double-clutch transmission).

There's no denying the sex appeal of the Z4 M Coupe. Women wonder if you're James Bond, men spin their heads lustfully when you pimp it down Main Street. It's not that the car looks particularly exotic-it just looks different. There's nothing on the road anything like this radically proportioned Coupe. The same was true of the first one.

I love the attention, but I don't really like the styling. As rare as the shape is, it doesn't seem balanced. And the headlights are just too Bangled for my taste.

On the other hand, the engine has the kind of soul that God would request in a sports car. It's perfectly tractable at low revs, but an obvious willingness to spin is a constant reminder that things get much more exciting after 4000 rpm. It d

BMW has well and truly jumped on
the bandwagon with the latest Z4. The SLK might have had a folding hard-top
since its launch in 1996, but BMW was late joining the party. The 3-Series
Convertible only got one in the latest generation and now the Z has finally
gained it as well.

The bare figures are this: the
roof lowers and raises in 20 seconds, prices start at £28,645 for the 23i and
get to £37,060 for the 35i that we've just driven. Oh, and it'll do 0-62mph in
5.1 seconds with the dual clutch gearbox fitted.

The BMW Z1 car is a two-seat soft top roadster. It uses the engine and transmission from the BMW E30 car 325 model mounted in a specially designed base frame or chassis, which is made from galvanised steel. BMW car's front suspension is re-worked 325 components, with a wider track. The rear bmw car's z1 suspension is the specially designed 'Z axle'. The most distinctive features of the body are the electrically powered doors, which in the open position drop down into the side sills, this creating the ultimate 'open car' when the soft top is lowered underneath its' flat cover.

The first example of a Z1 BMW car was released by BMW to the press in 1986 and later officially presented at the 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show. Initial demand was so fierce that BMW had 5,000 orders before production began. Unfortunately, demand dropped significantly around 1988 and BMW ended production Z1 cars in 1991. There is speculation that this drop in demand was due to the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz SL (Brossaud, 1) and the early inflated demand from speculative investors.[2] In 1988, however, BMW was quoted as saying that they had 35,000 orders for Z1s.