BMW News: 2019 BMW Z4 M40i Arrives At Pebble Beach

[William Maley]

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Last year, BMW used Monterey Car Week to show off the Z4 Concept. Today, the 2019 Z4 made its world debut at Pebble Beach.

The design matches up with the concept, for better and worse. The front end reminds us oddly of the Fiat 124 Spider with a sculpted hood, large headlights, and expansive vents. A set of kidney grilles feature mesh inserts. Along the side, there is a fair amount of sculpting for the doors and venting behind the front wheels. The back is very short and has a trunk that incorporates a ducktail spoiler. The particular model featured in the photos is known as the First Edition and comes with Frozen Orange Metallic paint, an anthracite fabric top, and 19-inch double spoke wheels.

Inside, BMW went for a minimalistic look with little brightwork and controls grouped around the driver. There is a digital gauge cluster and the option of a heads-up display.

The M40i designation means there is a turbocharged 3.0L inline-six engine. No power figures are given for the North American version, but the European version will see 350 horsepower. Whatever the power figure ends up being, 0-60 mph is said to take under 4.4 seconds. There will also be a 30i model that will use a 2.0L turbo-four.

The M40i model gets some additional performance goodies such as sport suspension setup, M Sport rear differential, and larger brakes.

BMW will be providing more details on the Z4 next month, where we'll hopefully get more details on the powertrains. As for when it will go on sale, the 30i will arrive at dealers next spring. The M40i follows in the summer.

Source: BMW

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Promise Delivered: The World Premiere of the All-New BMW Z4 in Pebble Beach

• BMW Unveils Z4 M40i Roadster First Edition on the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Reviewing Stand During Monterey Car Week

Pebble Beach, CA – August 23, 2018…Today, BMW unveiled the all-new 2019 BMW Z4 M40i First Edition, the latest chapter in the history of BMW Z Roadsters which began thirty years ago with the production of the BMW Z1. With athletic proportions and a new emotional design language, the open-top two-seater takes the classic roadster concept into the world of tomorrow.

The latest generation of the BMW Roadster celebrates its World Premiere at precisely the same location that served as the stage for the World Premiere of the BMW Concept Z4 last year: The Reviewing Stand of the world renowned Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance where on Sunday one outstanding automobile will be presented with the prestigious Best in Show trophy. During the presentation last year, BMW Group Design Chief Adrian van Hooydonk stated “The BMW Concept Z4 Roadster is a promise of a production version planned for the future”. That future has now arrived.

With its pure and progressive design, the BMW Concept Z4 Roadster presented a vision of a charismatic sports car which now becomes a production car reality. Just a glance at the all-new BMW Z4’s proportions leaves no doubt about its sporting potential. The central sitting position for the driver, the low center of gravity, perfectly balanced 50:50 weight distribution; the new BMW Z4 fulfills these expectations in every aspect.

Vertically stacked headlights, the BMW kidney grille sporting a mesh design, the long clamshell hood stretching over the front wheels, large air breathes on the front wheel arches and the distinctive spoiler integrated into the rear lid all contribute towards the characteristic look of the new BMW Z4. The design of the interior places the focus on the pure sports driving enjoyment of the new BMW Z4. The driver-oriented cockpit styling is underscored by dynamic forward-oriented lines. Likewise, the clearly structured arrangement of all control elements enhances the focus on the driving experience inside the new BMW Z4.

For a perfect start into a new roadster era, the new BMW Z4 M40i First Edition offers specific design and equipment features that add exclusive accents to the car’s sporty flair. The expressive body paintwork in Frozen Orange Metallic is combined with an electrically operated textile soft top in anthracite with silver effect, the BMW Individual High Gloss Shadow Line, black exterior mirror caps and 19-inch light alloy wheels boasting a two-tone, double spoke design. The interior of the First Edition model features Vernasca black leather trim with decorative stitching, electrically adjustable seats with memory function and the Harman Kardon Surround Sound System. Adaptive LED headlights, BMW Head-Up Display featured for the first time in a BMW roadster and the BMW Live Cockpit Professional with two high resolution digital displays, offering the latest networking technology underpin the advanced status of the tradition-steeped two-seater, open-top sports car interpretation that is being presented by BMW in the all-new Z4 Roadster.

Power for the new Z4 M40i First Edition Roadster is provided by an uprated version of BMW’s iconic 3.0 liter inline 6-cylinder engine producing enough horsepower and torque to propel the BMW Z4 M40i from 0-60mph in under 4.4 seconds (estimated). A BMW M tuned sports suspension with electronically controlled dampers, M Sport braking system and an electronically controlled M Sport rear differential will ensure that this latest M Performance Model can carve through the twists of the Laureles Grade as effortlessly as cruising along the Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur.

Full Z4 model details and specifications to be announced on September 18, 2018. The all-new 2019 BMW Z4 30i will arrive in U.S. BMW Centers in Spring 2019 with the BMW Z4 M40i (including the First Edition) arriving in the Second Quarter.

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[G. David Felt]

Wow can it be anymore ugly like the Toyota Prius cars with those big fat whatever you call them BLACK PLASTIC spots in the lower left and right corners of the front end. I really question what the designer saw in it.

[ccap41]

That's a pretty good looking car. I really like the rear end of it compared to last gen. 

[smk4565]

It looks like the Fiat, which is pretty disappointing.  What happened to the design of the concept car?  What a let down.

[riviera74]

6 hours ago, smk4565 said:

It looks like the Fiat, which is pretty disappointing.  What happened to the design of the concept car?  What a let down.

There is always a letdown from concept to production.  Some letdowns are steeper than others.  Unfortunately it does happen a lot throughout the industry.

[Drew Dowdell]

I can see bits of Toyota in the design.

[Robert Hall]

It's a rather busy design..makes the previous generations of Z4 look clean.  The original Z3 is still the best looking, IMO. 

[smk4565]

It looks better in silver, but still doesn’t look very good.  After seeing this, I feel like Mercedes needs to kill off the SLC and put an AMG sports car out to smash this thing and compete with the Boxster/Cayman/718, and the Corvette.  

[balthazar]

It's BMW- they show concept after concept after concept and only ever put out reguritations of everything they already produce.
This car is a mess of disharmonious lines, but no surprise- as BMW (production) design is pretty much asleep at the wheel.

[Cmicasa the Great]

No way no how anyone can possibly say that this car is good looking. Performance will be great I'm sure, but its ugly and messy as sin

[regfootball]

meh.

I still remember around the 2000 era when i worked in the quaint lake town.  i walked out of the office at work and a stunning Z9 was parked outside.  I had to run and get the camera to take a picture.  this picture wasn't that car but shows what the styling was.  Still one of the few times I was blown away by how cool a car looked.  this Z4 has none of that

 

[smk4565]

The Z8 was cool, and if you bought one back then they can sell for $300,000 or more now if they are low mileage.    The late 90s, early 2000s was the last time BMW had good styling, and I wasn't even a fan of it then, but they went ugly in the Bangle era, then got conservative and boring and lost after that.

[balthazar]

Just take the divider out of the BMW grille and exchange the badging for kia emblems.

 

[Cmicasa the Great]

7 hours ago, balthazar said:

Just take the divider out of the BMW grille and exchange the badging for kia emblems.

 

WOW! That's exactly what I saw.. just didn't realize what I was trying to see. It does look like an effin Kia... and that ain't good. DISGUSTING looking..