A sports car's sports car

My most recent trip to Europe for a BMW test drive was one of the longest roundabouts I have ever experienced in all my travels – but with no regrets.

Leaving Manila at a little past midnight of Sunday morning (March 29) our Emirates 5 to 6-hour flight brought us first to Dubai for a 3-hour stopover and then to Germany for a 2-night stay and finally a 3-hour flight to Spain via Air Berlin for the 2-day test drive of the new BMW Z4 Roadster.

On paper the itinerary prepared for us was a real killer. It was a combined brainchild of Bobby Rosales, president and Maricar Cristobal-Parco, marketing director of Asian Carmakers Corporation, the exclusive distributors of BMW in the country and home turf of business tycoon Pepito Alvarez. But as Top Gear magazine’s very capable editor-in-chief and Manila Times’ very colorful and oftentimes controversial columnist, Vernon Sarne and myself, chaperoned by Maricar herself, went through the itinerary, we found it so informative, entertaining and an adventure in itself.

The two-day stay in Munich was for us to be able to experience a guided tour of both the BMW Welt and the BMW Museum.

The BMW Welt is now a new highlight of Germany’s tourism ranking among the five most popular sights in the State Capital of Bavaria. It’s a place to experience the world of BMW ranging from the latest trends and exhibitions through technical highlights and design features all the way to the emotions of the lucky customers able to take receipt of their new car in the BMW Welt.

At the BMW Museum, one can trace the colorful and historic transformation of the world-famous motoring marquee to what it is today. We were also treated to a detailed account of the history of the BMW Roadster from its original model to the present model’s immediate predecessor. I’ll have a more detailed account of these two significant landmarks in Munich in my subsequent columns.

Our flight from Munich to Alicante, Spain where the actual test drive of the BMW Z4 was conducted was a revelation of sorts for me or for any pet-loving Pinoy. I saw quite a number of passengers with their dogs and cats in tow, inside specially designed bags that allow them to breathe freely throughout the flight. No, the pets didn’t have seats of their own but were carried like ordinary hand-carry luggage and place by their feet. I brought my dogs with me to my Cebu vacation trips but then they were only allowed to travel in cages inside the cargo cabin – being not pressurized it can be very uncomfortable for the pets not to mention stressful.

Upon arrival we were immediately shuttled to the Expo Center where we saw all the new BMW Z4s that we can imagine assembled in one place. Immediately upon registration we were given the keys to one of them and Vernon did all the driving on the first day to his heart’s delight as I didn’t have my driver’s license and had to wait for an e-mailed copy before my turn to drive on the second day.

So what makes the new BMW Z4 the sports car’s sports car?

To begin with it is the first roadster in the history of BMW that has a fully retractable hardtop. This two-piece roof structure in light aluminum shell technology opens and closes electro-hydraulically at the touch of a button within just 20 seconds, the two roof elements coming to rest in snug and compact arrangement in the roof compartment. Enhanced remote control with Comfort Access is available as an option, allowing the user to close the roof also from a distance.

For golfers, with the roof up the BMW Z4 Roadster can easily accommodate a 46-inch full size golf bag, and two of those when the roof is closed.

It comes in three variants:

BMW Z4 sDrive35i has a straight-six petrol engine with Twin Turbo and direct fuel injection. It has a capacity of 2,979 cc with max output of 225 kW/306 hp at 5,800 rpm and max torque of 400 Nm/295 lb-ft from 1,300 to 5,000 rpm. It has an acceleration rate of 0-100 km/hr in 5.2 secs. With a top speed of 250 km/hr.

BMW Z4 sDrive30i comes with a six-straight petrol engine with a capacity of 2,996 cc with max output of 190 kW/258 hp at 6,600 rpm and max torque of 310 Nm/228 lb-ft at 2,750 rpm. Acceleration of 0-100 km/h in 5.8 secs and similar top speed of 250 km/hr.

BMW Z4 sDrive23i also comes in a straight-six petron engine with a capacity of 2,497 cc, max output of 150 kW/204 hp at 6,200 rpm and max torque of 250 Nm/184 lb-ft at 2,950 rpm. Acceleration of 0-100 km/hr in 6.6 secs and top speed of 242 km/hr.

Maximized safe driving or riding comes with a Comprehensive Safety Concept with extremely stiff body structures, specific use of high-strength steel and special deformation elements, head/thorax airbags integrated at the front and at the side in the seat backrests, three-point inertia-reel seat belts with new belt tightening technology, massively reinforced A-pillars and roll bars behind the headrests and runflat tires.

The BMW guys couldn’t have picked a better site to test drive the BMW Z4 Roadster and have the sports car demonstrate its awesome technological features than the hills and mountains of Alicante, Spain.

The well-paved winding roads that snake up and down the slopes can best show how “the sports car’s sports car” can be a “no-brainer” in controlling and maneuvering it at high speeds. You really have to be deliberately to make it roll over or spin for it to roll over or spin but still you can’t be sure if the car’s technology will allow you to be successful.

For a more dynamic visual illustration of the BMW Z4 Roadster, watch out for our feature of this remarkable sports car in our future episodes of our TV shows Motoring Today and Auto Focus.

We still have to hear from our local BMW guys as to when the new BMW Z4 Roadster would be available in the country and as to what variants it would come.

But believe me, this is one sports car that’s indeed worth waiting for.

Happy Motoring!!!

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