evo India – July 2019

ass bonnet with the two seats nearly on top of the rear axle.

There is an M badge on that gorgeous derriere, but this ain’t

a full blown M car. The Z4 is the Nickelback to the M3 and

M4’s Metallica. Less hardcore. The Z4 M40i has a 3-litre

straight-six engine with a single twin-scroll turbocharger.

It also gets a 9-speed automatic and not a DCT. Softer edges

then on the Z4 M40i, but that’s a matter of perspective. This

M40i is still the most hardcore Z4 you can get, the other

being a puny 2-litre, four-cylinder. And who wants four

cylinders when you can have six, right? Porsche, take note.

I was belting it down the long straight roads of the city,

roof down, revelling in the howl of the exhaust. This engine

has character. It isn’t the same S55 engine from the M2

and M3 cars with one turbo less — the B58 is an entirely

different animal. Sport Plus mode opens up the valves in

the exhaust and it’s entertaining — roaring to the 7000rpm

redline and firing staccato shots on the overrun. Torque is

huge, not enough to overwhelm the wide 275-section rear

tyres every time you have at it but enough to send you to

illegal speeds before you have time to get your foot off the

gas. The gearbox is quick enough for a regular automatic

— a DCT would have certainly been more clinical but then

the Z4 isn’t trying to be a clinical car. It’s got enough grunt

to entertain you, and scare your passenger silly and that’s

all that matters. But that’s not to say the Z4 is a slouch. It is

fast enough to have bested the M2 Competition around the

‘Ring, and that’s saying something.

The M on the bum also means you can set the Z4 up better.

It gets dynamic dampers that allow you to stiffen (and lower)

or slacken up the suspension to three different settings. The

roads I had handpicked for my dash through the darkness

were the smoothest ones around town, but this is India. Our

standards for smooth roads are dismal and the dampers

were best left in Comfort. But just because the suspension

was in Comfort doesn’t mean that my right foot had to deal

with a gentle drivetrain. The Z4’s Individual mode meant I

could dial up the steering and the drivetrain to the max in

Sport Plus, while my backside enjoyed the supple ride.

THE Z4’S PROPORTIONS MAKE IT PRETTY

CLEAR WHAT SORT OF A CAR IT IS

130 http://www.evoIndia.com | July 2019