The Bold and the Beautiful
The Cayman S is one of the most talked about sports cars currently
on the market. Sure, it may be a true sports coupe, fitting in line with the likes of the Nissan 350Z, Audi TT and Chrysler Crossfire, but the reason it's making such a splash is because it has raised the bar on driver involvement to a whole new level. This vehicle is said to be so good that even with a smaller engine and less horsepower, it's managed to lap the ultimate race circuit, Germany's Nurburgring, in less time than a stock 911 Carrera. As you can imagine, the competition wouldn't exactly be competition if it let Porsche walk away with top honours in the sports coupe segment - not without stepping outside for a brawl first. The first competitor to arrive since the Cayman S' introduction last year is this, the long-awaited Z4 Coupe.
You would have thought that after the Z3 Coupe, BMW would have leaped at the chance to affix a hardtop to its successor, the Z4, even if the odd-looking Z3 hardtop was one of the least popular vehicles that BMW has sold in recent years. But they didn't; they waited for a whole two years, and a mid-cycle facelift before showing off the completed project. We're not sure why. It might be for a number of reasons. Perhaps it was the fact that the Z4 hasn't been the success that BMW wanted it to be, or, maybe they weren't sure if a coupe would have been an appropriate addition. Nevertheless, it's always better to arrive late than never, especially if you're going to be as fashionable when you finally get there as this vehicle is now.
For
the most part, the production Z4 Coupe is a spitting image of the prototype that it was based on, the Z4 Coupe Concept; the matte silver one that debuted in Frankfurt last year. The concept itself didn't present anything truly groundbreaking, bar the roof; instead, it demonstrated that BMW was still capable of the lost art of hand-built craftsmanship. Not only was it astonishing to look at with that flawless paint job and dark alloy wheels, but the interior simply left me breathless. All interior surfaces, criticized of being plasticky in the roadster, were covered in tan leather, quilted, hand-stitched, and patterned. It took a detailed eye and a fat wallet to make, but the craftsmanship extended to baubles such as knobs, switches and even the spokes in the steering wheel, all of which were made of aluminum.
The concept having generated enough positive response from crowds that flocked to the stands in Frankfurt, BMW gave it the green light. Overall, the Z4 Coupe is a much nicer vehicle to look at than the old Z3 Coupe, mostly because this time, BMW got the proportions right. Sure, the rather preposterous tail made it one of the most practical sports cars of the late '90s and early '00s, but it looked quite silly, walking the fine line between sports car and panel van (or clown's shoe). The new one, with its wind-sculpted roofline, still maintains some aspects of practicality with a rear hatchback, but it's rakish lines, not at all stodgy, cut into the cargo area's usefulness more than the old one's more vertical tailgate did. Of course, compared to the Z4 roadster, the coupe is much more accommodating, and with the latter car's eye-grabbing bodywork, its darn right beautiful to look at.
Like many manufacturers who are building two-door hardtops these days, the
Z4 Coupe has a wide open hatchback to make living with this sports car a little bit less difficult. All that extra metal-framed glass amounts to 340 litres (12.0 cu-ft) of space, which is more than the 306 litres (10.8 cu-ft) granted by the hatchback Audi TT, but less than the 410 litres (14.5 cu-ft) of the Cayman, though, the Porsche has the unfair advantage of having two trunks and the Audi the disadvantage of having two rear seats. BMW claims that it's enough to snuggly fit in two sets of Calloway's finest clubs, however, if you want to keep your belongings out of sight, they'll have to fit into 285 litres' (10.1 cu-ft) worth of space due to the cargo cut off line.
The Cayman S is one of the most talked about sports cars currently
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| BMW isn't just going to let Porsche or any other automaker walk away with the segment's top honours, hence the new M-Coupe. (Photo: BMW Canada) |
You would have thought that after the Z3 Coupe, BMW would have leaped at the chance to affix a hardtop to its successor, the Z4, even if the odd-looking Z3 hardtop was one of the least popular vehicles that BMW has sold in recent years. But they didn't; they waited for a whole two years, and a mid-cycle facelift before showing off the completed project. We're not sure why. It might be for a number of reasons. Perhaps it was the fact that the Z4 hasn't been the success that BMW wanted it to be, or, maybe they weren't sure if a coupe would have been an appropriate addition. Nevertheless, it's always better to arrive late than never, especially if you're going to be as fashionable when you finally get there as this vehicle is now.
For
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| About the closest thing we'll get to the Z4 Coupe Concept - the Z4 Coupe 3.0si. (Photo: BMW Canada) |
The concept having generated enough positive response from crowds that flocked to the stands in Frankfurt, BMW gave it the green light. Overall, the Z4 Coupe is a much nicer vehicle to look at than the old Z3 Coupe, mostly because this time, BMW got the proportions right. Sure, the rather preposterous tail made it one of the most practical sports cars of the late '90s and early '00s, but it looked quite silly, walking the fine line between sports car and panel van (or clown's shoe). The new one, with its wind-sculpted roofline, still maintains some aspects of practicality with a rear hatchback, but it's rakish lines, not at all stodgy, cut into the cargo area's usefulness more than the old one's more vertical tailgate did. Of course, compared to the Z4 roadster, the coupe is much more accommodating, and with the latter car's eye-grabbing bodywork, its darn right beautiful to look at.
Like many manufacturers who are building two-door hardtops these days, the
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| It may not be as great of a load-lugger as the original M-Coupe, but the new car still boasts plenty of luggage space. (Photo: BMW Canada) |