First Look: 2009 BMW Z4 Roadster
As you tear up those mountain roads, you'll be doing so in comfort thanks to seats and a steering wheel wrapped in Kansas leather in one of three colors standard. For maximum luxury, you can choose the Exclusive Ivory White Leather Package, which also gets you sport seats and Anthracite wood trim. Z4 sDrive35i models can also be ordered with the Extended Leather package, which wraps the dash, sunvisors, and doorsills in black leather. All the leather features Sun Reflective Technology to prevent it from getting too hot to touch. Other creature comforts include optional dual-zone climate control, a rear-window defroster, and the ability to roll down all four windows independently. A removable wind deflector between the seats keeps turbulence down in the cockpit with the roof is down.
BMW promises that Z4 will still be practical in addition to being sporty. With the roof up, the trunk can reportedly swallow two golf bags. With the roof down and a special partition in place, it can still hold a medium-size hard-shell suitcase. An optional pass through-loading system allows larger items, such as skis, to be passed through into the passenger compartment. For those who opt for the Comfort Access system, the roof can move to an interim position to allow easy access to the trunk without putting the hardtop all the way up.
Every new Z4 will feature BMW's Ultimate Service package, which includes a maintenance program, roadside assistance and BMW Assist, a system similar to GM's OnStar that can direct emergency services to your vehicle in the event of an accident. All Z4s are also covered by BMW's standard four-year/50,000 mile new vehicle warranty and 12-year/unlimited mileage rust perforation warranty.
Production of the Z4 at BMW's plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, ended in August to make room for more X Series vehicle production. The new Z4 will be built alongside the 1 Series at BMW's plant in Regensburg, Germany. The new car bows at a special event on December 15 and will make its first public appearance at the Detroit auto show in January. BMW hasn't announced when the car will go on sale, but it will likely be in the spring of 2009. Future Z4 variants are rumored to include a softtop for 2010 and possibly a V-8-powered M version some time in the future.