Believe it or not, it’s precisely two decades since the first E85 Z4 hit these shores. And thanks to its edg y ‘f lame surface’ styling , it still looks good. The slightly toned down second generation E89 with its retractable hardtop followed in 2009 – and even after more than a decade, that too appears bang up to date.
The first Z4 was built stateside at BMW ’s Spar tanburg plant and was aimed squarely at the higher end of the open-top market, taking on the gauntlet from its predecessor, the Z3, when it came to battling Porsche’s Boxster. There were just two engine options at launch; the M54 straight- six in 2.5-litre and 3.0-litre guise, mated to a five- and sixspeed manual ’box respectively, although a Steptronic automatic was optional. The firm’s sequential manual (SMG) system was also offered from launch in the UK but that’s a rare option.
BMW ’s M54 six-pot 2.2i joined the lineup in 2003 and this in turn was replaced by a silky smooth four- c ylinder, 150bhp 2.0i unit in 2005. A facelift with minor revisions followed soon after in 2006.
While full-time roadsters are lovely in summer, they
