The BMW Z4 (G29) is a two-door roadster produced by German automobile manufacturer BMW. It was introduced in 2018 as a successor to the E89 Z4. As a fifth model in the lineage, the Z4 (G29) marks the return of the soft-top roof to the Z Series sports cars.

Development and launch

Festival automobile international 2018 - BMW Z4 Concept - 001

The G29 Z4 was introduced at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 23, 2018. Designed by Australian born Calvin Luk, the car is based on the Z4 Concept unveiled a year earlier, and was developed alongside the fifth-generation Toyota Supra due to BMW's partnership with

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

. The design was inspired by the Z8. The G29 Z4 is based on the Toyota-BMW joint sports car architecture which also underpins the fifth-generation Supra and has a 50:50 weight distribution with weight savings of up to as compared to its predecessor. The soft-top convertible roof returned on the Z4 (G29) instead of a

retractable hardtop A retractable hardtop — also known as "coupé convertible" or "coupé cabriolet" — is a car with an automatically operated, self-storing hardtop, as opposed to the folding textile-based roof used by traditional convertible cars. The benefits ...

of its predecessor. The roof can be raised or lowered in 10 seconds at speeds of up to . The boot is 50% larger than that of its predecessor and has a capacity of . It uses a multi-link rear suspension. The official launch of the G29 Z4 took place at the

2018 Paris Motor Show The 2018 Paris Motor Show took place from 4 October to 14 October. For the first time, it consists in three shows dedicated to automobiles, motorcycles and new mobility. Introductions Production cars *Audi A1 * Audi E-tron EV *Audi Q3 * Audi S ...

in October. The car was available for sale in March 2019. On March 11th, 2022, Magna Steyr halted production of the BMW Z4 (along with the 5-Series) for two weeks due to the lack of components since the ongoing

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

event. By 2024 the Z4 will end production, being the last Z-car in the BMW Z-series.

Equipment

The sDrive models are available in a Sport line or the M Sport package. Available driver assistance systems include active cruise control, lane change warning system, a parking assistant, and collision warning with braking intervention. The Z4 is offered with a 10.25-inch display with the

iDrive iDrive is an in-car communications and entertainment system, used to control most secondary vehicle systems in late-model BMW cars. It was launched in 2001, first appearing in the E65 7 Series. The system unifies an array of functions under a ...

7.0. The car is available with BMW

ConnectedDrive ConnectedDrive is a collection of electronic features for BMW vehicles. ConnectedDrive was introduced in 2008 at the Geneva Motor Show as a web browser built into the car's infotainment system. Additional features have been added since, such as ...

services which allow for over-the-air updates for the navigation maps and operating system. The digital key feature allows the car to be unlocked and started with a smartphone, and access can be shared with other people. It is also available with a customisable, digital

instrument cluster For business applications, see Dashboard (business). A dashboard (also called dash, instrument panel (IP), or fascia) is a control panel set within the central console of a vehicle or small aircraft. Usually located directly ahead of the driver ...

(called BMW Live Cockpit Professional).

Models

The launch model was the M40i First Edition which has Frozen Orange metallic paintwork and Vernasca leather, 19-inch alloy wheels, adaptive dampers, a

Harman Kardon Harman Kardon (stylized as ) is a division of US-based Harman International Industries, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, and manufactures home and car audio equipment. Harman Kardon was originally founded in 1953 by business partners, Sid ...

surround sound system and a

head-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD (), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view informa ...

. The Z4 range consists of the sDrive 20i which is only available in Europe, the sDrive 30i and the range topping M40i models. The sDrive models are powered by the 2.0-litre B48 straight-4 engine while the M40i is powered by the B58 straight-6 engine. All engines come with forced induction and are mated to an 8-speed

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...

. A 6-speed

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...

was made available for only the sDrive 20i from July 2019.

Safety

The 2019 Z4 received five stars overall in its

Euro NCAP The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in February ...

test.

Awards

* 2019 GQ 'The Sideways Is Best Award'

References

External links

* {{BMW vehicles Euro NCAP roadster sports cars Cars introduced in 2018 Z4 (G29) G29 2020s cars