Driven: 2019 BMW Z4 M40i First Contact - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Most of those rules are clearly common sense: don't crash it, don't smoke in it, don't take it to another country and try to return it in the same condition. When it comes to sportier rear-wheel-drive cars, the last rule also includes the rear tires, obviously, which is a rather hard thing to do when you have a heavy right foot.

Some of these rules go out the window when the test drive takes place in a controlled environment, such as a racing track, and especially when the carmaker in question has a partner that is more than happy to supply tires for the event.

This is pretty much what happened on my recent BMW Z4 driving experience, which was also my first contact with the newest generation of the now iconic Bavarian roadster.

Thanks to the folks at Continental, who were kind enough to explain that they've been quite a lot more than a tire manufacturer for some years now, the little roadster that could was more than able to be driven hard on the track.

By “hard” I mean until the rear tires were simply obliterated just so we are on the same page about what I'm talking about.

It's not just Continental tires that the new Z4 or other modern BMWs come equipped with, but other pieces of active safety or semi-autonomous tech as well, in case you were wondering.

I also spent some quality time in the all-new 3 Series G20, but not enough to warrant a first-contact article about it. You won't have to wait too long until I get my grubby hands on it for a slightly longer drive, though.

Getting back to the all-new Z4, I should probably start by reminding you that it is not the new Supra in open-top guise from a technical standpoint. In fact, the new Toyota Supra is more like an arguably better looking, coupe version of the BMW Z4 G29.

For some, that may come as not-so-good news, since no matter how well-built were the previous Z4s, none of them achieved the same cult status as the Supra Mk 4, just to give an obvious example.

The fact is, roadsters and premium convertibles are a dying breed regarding sales and BMW knows that which is why this Z4 could be the last of its kind for a very long time if it doesn't sell well. Heck, BMW was on the verge of pulling the plug on the project if Toyota hadn't come along with its new Supra to split the development and production costs.

This rather tricky and long gestation period was a blessing in disguise for the new Bavarian roadster, since neither of its predecessors can shake a stick at when it comes to agility on track and overall sportiness.

What they can do, though, and I'm including every BMW roadster in history – including the not-so-handsome Z1 – in this comparison, is laugh at the Z4 G29's proportions.

Unlike its predecessors, the new Z4 has a lot less humor engineered in, which probably sounds a tad peculiar for a roadster purist but totally understandable in this day and age. From the side, and I must specify this is probably just my weird opinion, it almost looks like it's FWD because of that humongous front overhang.

I have no idea what BMW designers had in mind when penning the new model but it has the proportions of something that was built from different parts. All the details work, but when put together they don't seem to give the car justice and offer a total lack of cohesion between the elements.

The traditional long hood and short rear deck are still there, but the entire cockpit has been moved forward and the driver and passenger sit smack right in the middle of the car instead of rearwards. Coincidentally, the driving position is also a subtle reminder of the car's entirely different driving feel.

To me, each corner felt like I was driving a mid-engined car, not a front-engined one, and that's saying a lot when you consider pretty much any of its predecessors.

Now, it could be argued that both the previous Z4 and the new one have a 50:50 weight distribution over the two axles and a similar suspension layout, so why do they feel so different at the limit?

Well, the reason is rather simple and is actually a mix of various novel implementations. First of all, instead of sitting above the rear axle you're now seated almost smack in the middle of the car. Since every time you get the tail out the car is way livelier and all the outside forces act upon you almost equally from all sides.

Second of all, despite being longer than its predecessor, the Z4 G29 has a shorter wheelbase, which is partly to blame for those FWD-like proportions but it also makes the car steer much faster. Last but not least, thanks to the use of a soft-top convertible roof instead of a retractable hard-top, the G29 is up to 50 kilos (110 pounds) lighter than the E89 Z4.

All in all, we're talking about a lighter car with a shorter wheelbase and the driver sits closer to the middle of the car, so of course it's going to feel mid-engine on the twisties. The new soft-top, while also enforcing its “ugly duckling” looks when in place, grants the car with 50 percent more luggage space in the trunk and lowers the car's center of gravity a bit.

I only managed to sample the top-spec version, called the Z4 M40i, and current data suggest it won't be topped by a true M model any time soon, or ever, for that matter. Surprisingly, the Z4 M40i is probably the first BMW model ever whose American version is more powerful than its European spec, which is the one I manage to drive on the track.

Because of different emission standards, the Euro model needs to be fitted with a Gas Particulate Filter (GPF) on the exhaust, which apparently smothers the 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six to develop only 340 PS (335 BHP). In the U.S. you can get the model without GPF and benefit from the full 387 PS (382 BHP) of the engine, albeit with identical torque figures – 500 Nm (368 lb-ft).

In Europe, these numbers translate into a 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) time of 4.5 seconds, while the U.S. model can hit 97 kph (60 mph) in just 3.9 seconds. Both figures are mighty impressive for a rear-wheel-drive car with this kind of power, but the new Z4 is more about being thrashed around corners than being drag raced.

Sadly for purists, the only available transmission in the M40i version is the tried and true eight-speed automatic from ZF, but you are probably all well aware that it can shift faster than any human could.

I could talk for ages about the interior, which uses a brand new infotainment system, and how the gauges are no longer analog, or round, for that matter, but you can get all that from a press release. What I want to leave you with after reading about my short but exhaustive track drive of the BMW Z4 M40i is this: if you have nothing against weirdly proportioned cars, the new BMW roadster is everything that its predecessors weren't regarding driving pleasure, and I'm also including the beautiful but ill-fated Z8 on the list. The new Z4 in M40i guise may very well be the most fun to drive modern BMW.