Road Test
BMW Z4M Coupe
Test date 08 August 2006
Price as tested £41,556
For Sporting looks, terrific engine, smooth-road handling, rarity
AgainstHard work on B-roads, controls lack feel, touchy brakes, quality lapses
If you like rare-groove, extreme machines, you’ll like the Z4 M Coupé. BMW GB is bringing in just 200 this year, making the chances of seeing another satisfyingly unlikely.
But then, this car replaces a BMW that was equally specialised and still more extreme if you judge by looks alone: the Z3-based M Coupé resembled a tidied development mule from the backrooms of BMW’s R&D department. Which didn’t stop it gathering an enthusiastic following.
This new Z4 M Coupé perhaps faces a tougher task. It isn’t as wilfully odd – though many will count that as a bonus – and it squares up to competition tougher than the old M Coupé battled, specifically the supremely accomplished Porsche Cayman S.
It also faces challenges from the £42,450 BMW M3 – with which it shares its engine – and from the near-£10,000 cheaper Z4 3.0si Coupé.
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