Apparently not to be outdone by their sports car partners at Toyota today, BMW dropped a bunch of news about the new Supra’s platform-mate the 2019 Z4. We have confirmed power specs for the turbocharged inline-six engine, and now for the upcoming four-cylinder variant too. Get excited.
First, official power specs for the U.S. version of the six-cylinder Z4 M40i are greater than anticipated: 382 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. Initially the car was reported to put out 340 HP, so the boost is very welcome there. BMW now says the car will do 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.
Then there’s the announcement of the four-cylinder model, the Z4 sDrive30i. (I don’t make up the names, people.) That roadster will have BMW’s trusty 2.0-liter turbo four putting out 255 HP and a very healthy 295 lb-ft of torque, good for a zero to 60 mph dash in just 5.2 seconds. (By the way, curb weight on the four-banger Z4 is officially rated at 3,287 pounds, but the weight of the six-cylinder car hasn’t been announced yet.)
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BMW also announced an sDrive20i model with the same engine rated at 197 HP, but that model won’t be sold in America.
Overall, those are seriously impressive numbers for the entry level sDrive30i, and with its presumably lighter weight it may even be a better overall buy than the one with the bigger engine, much as the four-cylinder 2 Series has always been able to challenge the six-cylinder one in terms of fun. The only real downside here is that the sole transmission available is an eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters—a great gearbox for sure, but if you ask me this pure sports car deserved a manual option too.
No pricing has been announced for any of these yet. The Z4 sDrive30i goes on sale in March and the Z4 M40i follows it later as a 2020 model.
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