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Electric Z4

Discussing the current generation Z4
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rdm05z4
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Electric Z4

Post by rdm05z4 » Fri May 14, 2021 3:19 pm

I have to say am not ready for an electric car yet mainly due to range and lack of charging station and charging times. And at my age probably wont get one before having to hang up driving. Now am all for saving the environment but are we not just trading one item for another? Meaning oil for more batteries discarded and being made? How do the people purposing ie Governments etc. plan on dealing with the up tick in the electric needs? Currently there is only a few ways to generate it with the "best" result. As for the beautiful sounds our gas powered cars make. I saw a car TV show here that they installed a "back box" looking device in a new Tesla. With which you could control/set the sound by phone or configure it to reach to the acceleration of the car. So looks like companies are starting to make devices to make sure us drivers who long for the sounds of a pure sports car are thought of?
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Post by GuidoK » Fri May 14, 2021 3:31 pm

I don't think making the z4 electric for the sake of it makes sense.
Electric cars that are sold now are not roadsters. They are mainstream cars.

Does it make sense to make the next z4 electic?
Sure!. If you look at the lenght of the z4 generation: the e89 started production in 2009. The g29 started production in 2018. That's a 9 year gap.
So the next z4 probably will be launched (if....) in 2027. By then it won't make any sense not to have fully electric vehicles in that lineup (maybe there will be 1 or 2 hybrid models in the model lineup).

So everything in that article is imho pure garbage. That the next z4 (if it will be made) will be electric or not will have nothing to do anymore if it's desireable or not as a concept, it'll be determined by whether it's the standard or not (as in what other cars will be like). Remember: the z4 is a parts car. It is not develloped as a seperate car with seperate tech. It's a 1 or 3 series roadster.
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Electric Z4

Post by ori » Mon May 17, 2021 7:00 pm

I think all this worry about range is a non issue.

Reality is that most people drive less than 100 miles a week and certainly less than 100 a day.
So a range of over 250 miles is plenty plenty.

It’s the cost of these electric cars that scares me.

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Post by ronk » Mon May 17, 2021 7:36 pm

ori wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 7:00 pm I think all this worry about range is a non issue.

Reality is that most people drive less than 100 miles a week and certainly less than 100 a day.
So a range of over 250 miles is plenty plenty.

It’s the cost of these electric cars that scares me.
On a day to day care that’s ok - but I take my cars down to SW Germany ( normally) I‘m sure there’ll be charge stations on the Autobahn- but what happens when I get to my hotel?
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Post by Nanu » Mon May 17, 2021 7:56 pm

I have posted on this very subject when the G29 was first released for sale. Think BMW missed a trick on this one. They already have the proven technology in the i8, so why didn't they just transfer that system (No doubt with a couple of tweaks) and make the Z4 a hybrid?

Imagine the performance of the i8 in a Z4? Under 4 seconds perhaps for the 0-60?

If they had done it in the e89 would have defo bought one. :thumbsup:
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Post by tiglon » Mon May 17, 2021 8:14 pm

I think the average annual miles is closer to 10,000 than 5,000 - but I agree range anxiety is a non issue for most people. I do around 12,000 a year but most electric cars would give sufficient range for my daily needs. What is an issue is if you don't have off road parking where you can fit a charger.

The infrastructure needs to improve, but I'm sure it will. There will inevitably be different solutions for longer distance travel (such as hydrogen) as well as rapid improvement of battery technology (solid state is apparently on it's way with 500+ mile ranges and superfast charging).

I'm just hoping and praying for Porsche and their friends to find a way of mass producing that eco fuel they are working on!
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Post by raven » Mon May 17, 2021 8:29 pm

Nanu wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 7:56 pm I have posted on this very subject when the G29 was first released for sale. Think BMW missed a trick on this one. They already have the proven technology in the i8, so why didn't they just transfer that system (No doubt with a couple of tweaks) and make the Z4 a hybrid?

Imagine the performance of the i8 in a Z4? Under 4 seconds perhaps for the 0-60?

If they had done it in the e89 would have defo bought one. :thumbsup:
isn't the i8 slower than a z4 ? I think its 4.4 for the i8 and around 4seconds flat for the Z4 or something untuned
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Post by Nanu » Tue May 18, 2021 7:30 pm

The i8 is 4.4 and the 35is is 4.8.

With the set up in the i8 it can be rear, front or 4 wheel drive which would be interesting in the Z4. With a smaller lighter body the Z4 would come down
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Post by raven » Tue May 18, 2021 8:46 pm

Ah i thought you were talking about the G29 :) , m40i is a little faster already 3.9 for the us model and the eu model is 4.5 (but thats to 62mph so probably about the same as the i8 then)

Also you only have the i8 power when the battery is charged, so most of the time it will be a lot slower and you'll just be pulling around extra weight for no reason. Not sure how far you can drive on the hybrid battery for an i8 but i think on the new 3series it was about 50km.

If I'm not mistaken the i8 is also one of the BMW cars with the most problems because of the hybrid setup it uses. But some, if not most, of these problems are most likely already resolved in the newer hybrid models :)


--
In my opinion electric driving is not the way to go in the long run, if everyone would buy an eclectic car and plug it in at night the power net would most likely end up getting overloaded. (ok it can grow with the sales of new cars, but so would the impact on the environment) Also the production/recycling of batteries and lifespan of batteries will be a big issue if everyone would start driving electric cars. Is a good way to meet the emission norms for now in the short term. But I don't think its sustainable.

I believe more in something like this, simply because its more practical
https://www.dw.com/en/porsche-to-produc ... emissions.
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Post by Nanu » Wed May 19, 2021 7:49 pm

I would only ever use an i8 on full sport / hybrid mode and never the electric only. Driven a one loaned to me for a day by one of my local stealerships and it was fantastic to drive. The handling and drive was superb.
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Post by Marcusbimmer » Sun May 23, 2021 2:39 am

To me a roadster is the last car that should be electric.
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Post by GuidoK » Sun May 23, 2021 3:30 am

Marcusbimmer wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 2:39 am To me a roadster is the last car that should be electric.
I think its envirol effectiveness is also the least.
Roadsters are typical cars that don't make many miles. they are typically not used for commuting.
When they are used, it's often for vacations, daytrips etc. So longer distances.
They are also not used for shopping.

And both the commuting and the shopping are aspects that benefit the most of an electric driveline.
The first as that is generally the bulk of the miles, in relative short stretches that most EV's can handle.
The 2nd one are also short stretches that all ev's can handle, and it is per definition in an area where you want emissions to be low (urban area)
Especially a short drive to the shops is the distance where an ICE pollutes the most (first 5min of a drive)
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Post by handymanuk » Mon May 24, 2021 5:06 pm

It feels like we've only recently started to see 'proper' electric cars, that is, cars that look and act like cars rather than milk floats. If I could afford it I'd have a Taycan, no question. To me it's a proper sporty car, the fact that it's electric is a huge bonus. Personally, I'm not wedded to ICE, except for the sound, such a shame to lose that, but it's going now anyway, what with the new noise restrictions.

If Porsche ever bring out an electric Cayman or Boxster I'm there. I don't see what the issue would be with having an electric Z4. I love the body style. If it's not got an ICE but still looks great and goes like stink then who cares?
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Post by Nanu » Mon May 24, 2021 7:52 pm

Marcusbimmer wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 2:39 am To me a roadster is the last car that should be electric.
Not even a hybrid?
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Post by Nanu » Mon May 24, 2021 7:54 pm

GuidoK wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 3:30 am
Marcusbimmer wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 2:39 am To me a roadster is the last car that should be electric.
I think its envirol effectiveness is also the least.
Roadsters are typical cars that don't make many miles. they are typically not used for commuting.
When they are used, it's often for vacations, daytrips etc. So longer distances.
They are also not used for shopping.

And both the commuting and the shopping are aspects that benefit the most of an electric driveline.
The first as that is generally the bulk of the miles, in relative short stretches that most EV's can handle.
The 2nd one are also short stretches that all ev's can handle, and it is per definition in an area where you want emissions to be low (urban area)
Especially a short drive to the shops is the distance where an ICE pollutes the most (first 5min of a drive)
Mine is used every day in all circumstances as its my only car. 1 mile journey to the supermarket today to collect a few cases of discounted beer and 150 miles yesterday for a drive around Northumberland.
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