BMW Z4

2003

The first-generation BMW Z4 was known as the E85 in roadster form and E86 in coupé form. It was designed by Danish BMW-designer Anders Warming.

The Z4's design addressed many criticisms of the preceding Z3; it was larger and featured a significantly stiffer chassis. The Z4 was initially only available as a roadster, but a coupé version was officially launched in 2006. The last model was manufactured on 27 August 2008 at the Spartanburg plant.

The second-generation Z4 was announced on 13 December 2008 and debuted at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit the following month. It is the first Z Series model to use a retractable hardtop and meant that there were no longer separate roadster and coupé versions of the car. The top is made of a two-piece lightweight aluminium shell and takes 20 seconds to operate. Manufacturing was moved from Spartanburg, United States to Regensburg, Germany.

The G29 Z4 is the third and current generation Z4 and was unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on 23 August 2018. It reuses the soft-top convertible roof found on the E85 Z4 instead of a retractable hardtop which now takes 10 seconds for operation. The G29 Z4 shares its platform with the J29 Toyota Supra and is manufactured in the same plant in Austria.