BMW Z4M Roadster 3.3 Review: BMW Z4M Roadster

The Z4M Coupe – it starts with the steering wheel.

In most cars, the steering wheel serves only as a device that changes direction of a vehicle. With this BMW, the strikingly large diameter of the rim is wrapped in supple leather, providing a sumptuous yet brawny place to land your grip.

It was love at first “feel” with the M. Before the engine, before the suspension and anything else, it is that meaty feel of the steering that captured my heart and toyed with the imagination.

It is maintained throughout every aspect of the car — from its hefty steering effort and shifter action to its heftily bolstered, sumptious seats.

This car is NOT to be described as the M3’s younger sibling

It still has the M's 330 horsepower and 356nm of torque intact. The engine only looses 2-5 hp due to the more restrictive exhaust design – a consequence of packing the potent package into a smaller, lighter and more responsive chassis.

Rev it to the 8,000-rpm redline, and you get the same thing - a broad torque band that pulls the car away from anything on the streets with that urgency and linearity of a fighter jet engine.

That’s where the similarities end. Fire up the engine side by side with an M3 and you’ll notice two very different things – the Z4M has a terrific, off beat low-frequency rumble akin to a Harley Davidson sans Bass, and makes the M3's high-pitched exhaust sound squealing in comparison.

That burly shifting characteristic of the 6 speeder is classic M3, and we applaud BMW for not including the SMG option in – this roadster was designed for pure driving action. No rescuing for wannabe F1 drivers!

The chassis is all aluminium and is as rigid as a 60s high school dean. It has a wider front track, stronger rear subframe and hydraulic power steering, M-specific suspension calibrations and 18-inch M Double-Spoke alloy wheels abound.

They are wrapped in generously sized 225/45-18 (front) and 255/40-18 (rear) Continental Sport Contacts.

You won’t expect anything less than instant response and on-limit handling confidence that you get in cars like the Exige and the M3 CSL. The difference is, you do it in style, comfort and of course, Gran Tourer style. This car is just as much a high speed bullet as the M3.

Toss it into a corner.

Drift it.

Do circles round anyone.

This car is so much fun, it literally had us crying, laughing and screaming at the same time.

Weighed on one of those giant cargo scales, the numbers clock in at 1,465kg. It has an aluminum hood upgraded aluminum front suspension pieces, and 50.2/49.8 weight distribution.

M3 Competition Package brakes find themselves at home here - dual-compound, cross-drilled, ventilated rotors that measure 32cm front and 30cm at the back.

The M still features two throttle-response programs. By default, the "Normal" setting is in use whenever the car is started, but pushing a very nondescript "Sport" button makes all the difference.

The ratio of throttle opening to pedal movement combined with its double VANOS variable valve technology creates razor like responsiveness.

In addition to a mechanical LSD that utilizes fluid to keep power in check, the usual Dynamic Stability Control is present, which we turned off most of the time because we were sliding through corners at too fast a speed.

They made this car super predictable, and it is so well suited for oversteer, that turning the car with the rear wheels just seems too natural.

Now absorb everything I’ve said, and combine it into one huge, emotional experience. You’ll understand why I actually shed a tear when handing the keys back to BMW. My summer romance, long gone…

Credits: Text by Amery Reuben. Photos Courtesy of Wang Xiaochong