18 May 06
Just as Porsche's Cayman is so much more than a Boxster with a roof, so the Z4 M Coupe is a whole lot more than just a tin-top version of the Z4 roadster.
This is the hardcore M, the uncompromised driver's car in the Z range. To make that point perfectly clear, BMW brought us to Estoril, the former Portuguese F1 circuit where Jacques Villeneuve stuck a passing move on Michael Schumacher that we're still talking about today. It's tight in places, oh-my-god fast in others. And, as two journos found to their cost, it'll bite you on the bum if you get it wrong. Hard.
But first the car. Adding a steel roof (it's so small there'd be no point in doing a carbon-fibre one as on the M6 to save weight) has doubled the torsional rigidity of the Z. The result is a car that's Porsche 911 stiff - which is very stiff indeed.
Under the bonnet resides BMW's quite sensational 3.2-litre straight-six, developing 343bhp, which is good enough to rocket this sled to 62mph in just 5.0secs and on to the usual 155mph limit. To haul it in, the Z4 M uses brakes from the M3 CSL, another of the hardest-core BMW's to ever turn a wheel. There's also a standard-fit, no-messing, low-tech six-speed gearbox, complete with a clutch you have to depress yourself. Very nice.
