BMW’s "most radical traditional sports car" has come in for a midlife upgrade and, as usual, it's all about the engines. Yes, there are subtle styling differences, along with new technology and more equipment, but the headline acts are two new 2.5 and 3.0-litre magnesium-alloy straight sixes. Filtering down to the "flame-surfaced", Z3-replacing Z4 Roadster from both the E90 3 Series and E60 5 Series, the new engines apply fresh spice to the controversially styled model whose popularity has only just begun to wane – as well as providing a tasty entrée to the born-again M Roadster.
BMW Z3 Roadster
Released: January 97
Ended: December 02
Family Tree: Z4THE original BMW Z3 roadster arrived Down Under in January, 1997, as a 103kW 1.9-litre four-cylinder, before adding a 141kW 2.8-litre version in April the same year. The 1.9 four was replaced by the 110kW 2.0-litre six in June, 1999, which itself was superseded by the 125kW 2.2-litre six in October, 2000. A month earlier, the Z3 2.8 was replaced by the 170kW 3.0-litre Z3 which, along with the 2.2, was discontinued in December 2002 before its Z4 successor lobbed six months later. The facelifted Z4 tested here replaces the 141kW Z4 2.5i and 170kW Z4 3.0i launched here in July 2003.
Super Test
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