Ze power of 4 - 2010 BMW Z4

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BMW recently unveiled its hottest ever roadster to come out of its factory gates yet. Abhishek Nigam takes a look at the latest Z4.

It was James Bond who brought forth BMW's most modern mass-market roadster the Z3 in front of the world. Armed with a self-destruct system, parachute braking and stinger missiles located in the side vents, the Z3 debuted in style. Apart from its starry movie debut , the Z3 also won various accolades for being a great car. Over the years BMW has upped the game for its roadsters and kept churning out one fantastic vehicle after another.

The immediate successor to the Z3 was the Z4. Introduced in 2002, this chunky Bimmer came in both roadster and coupe forms. In fact it was so good that almost immediately after its debut the car grabbed the 'Design of the Year' accolade from a reputed automobile magazine. Cut to the present, BMW just recently launched a redesigned version of its Z4 Roadster. The new model represents the first complete redesign since the inception of the Z4 badge itself. Look at it from any angle and it's difficult to mistake it for any other car. The shape is an interplay of striking contours and soft mergers which fully captures the character of this vehicle from its characteristic kidney grille to the powerful wheelarches at the rear. However, it's the way this roadster effortlessly negotiates straights and bends that gives it a distinct personality. The side view is dominated by the dynamic flow of the car's shoulder line connecting the front and rear wheel arches and accentuating the stretched, athletic look of the Roadster. Further characteristic design features are the extra-large engine compartment lid extending far over the wheel arches, the black A-pillars, the gill intakes at the side with their integrated LED direction indicators, as well as the slender rear lights with their three-dimensional LED-fed rows of light units. BMW's radical design revolution hasn't always been aesthetically successful, at least in the eyes of the BMW faithful. But BMW styling now seems to be hitting its stride, recapturing some of its former pleasing proportions. It appears that the steady hand of BMW designer Adrian van Hooydonk is getting the beloved Bimmers back where they need to be.

Stepping inside reveals an interior which is as radical as the exterior. It's more visually pleasing, and includes a slew of comfort and usability improvements. Notably, the traditional hand brake is gone in favor of an electronic setup. BMW's latest automatic gearshift is present. The audio system is built around an 8.8-inch LCD screen, featuring a 1280 x 480 pixel resolution, and an 80GB hard drive, with up to 15GB of music storage. A 650-watt 14-speaker sound system rounds out the list of high-tech features. No BMW is however complete without the renowned iDrive system and the Z4 is the first BMW roadster to feature the same. The system itself is made up of a Controller on the centre console and a folding, high-resolution Control Display on the instrument panel, allowing the driver to intuitively and safely mastermind all available functions through standardized movements of the controller either tipping it in one direction, turning or pressing the controller as required.

Seating is extraordinary as well. The seats with integrated headrests come stitched in high quality leather in a choice of three colours. The same colour is used on the lower section of the instrument panel and on the armrest of the door lining as well as the armrest on the centre console. Giving shelter from the elements of nature is a folding two-piece aluminum roof which takes some inspiration from the BMW Z8's elongated profile. This two-piece roof structure in lightweight aluminium shell technology opens and closes electro-hydraulically at the touch of a button within just 20 seconds.