Funny story... Just over 6 weeks ago I picked up the Z4, and I really like a white coupe. There's one colour however I like more, and I literally missed out on one by less than a day back in August.
Flashback: I was in Italy (before the Como-trip) with my GF when I decided to pull the trigger on a Z4. There was one for sale around an hour away from me in pretty much perfect spec: M-individual brown interior, M-sport wheel, automatic, BMW individual wheels, and: BMW Tiefgrün-metallic. A dark-green that -back during its production life- wasn't very popular: less than 30 made it to Germany where my car is originally from. Fewer still were sold in the Netherlands, so chances of coming across another are slim to none. We drove back from Italy on a Thursday-afternoon, getting back at 04.00 in the morning on Friday. I rang the dealer around 09:15 with a head full of mist, which was duly cleared out by the words: "sorry to say this sir, but the car you're enquiring about has been picked up less than 10 minutes ago, and it was sold yesterday afternoon. It has gone to a lovely new owner who has rung us about 20 times during our own vacation, and came by to see it before we were even properly up and running again." A few hours later the white coupe came up for sale, and the rest is -as they say- history.
Well... Not quite; last week I was looking through some Instagram stories, including those of a fellow Ducati enthusiast. She was at a small company specialised in 2-seaters, and in the background I spotted something I didn't expect to see. So I picked up the phone and called them to ask about the car. "Wow you're quick! We haven't even been able to list it on our website or put it on Dutch plates for that matter. We've just come back from Germany where we bought it. It's a nice one though: full service history, 2 owners since new and in good condition. Would you like to come by for a testdrive?"
At that point, I was pretty much already in the car and on my way there. During the hour-drive I pondered whether I would trade in my white coupe. After all, the green one was 2 years older, had no M-sport interior, the dreaded wooden dash (sorry fans), and missed a few other options I did have on my current car. However: it was the perfect colour, had a perfect history, and it was a manual.
I was met by two lovely young guys who had started their business only this year. They'd been trading MX-5's and a few other 2-seaters for a while but recently decided to really make a business out of it. The Z4 was parked up front for me waiting to be driven. As soon as I got to about third gear I realised how much I missed the experience of a manual. I honestly can't fault the ZF-box in the auto: it's quick, attentive, fairly clever and turns the Z4 into both a cruiser and a bruiser. Yet the feeling of a perfect, mechanical shift is something that's hard to beat. Yes the box is notchy, and the CDV is an idiotic item that will be duly removed, but it just feels right.
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Honestly, I didn't expect to say this again (let alone within 6 weeks), but: meet my new Z4 Coupe. This one's here to stay...
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This winter and spring, all of it will have to go. The roof-lining, door panels, seats (Recaro pole positions please...), trim, and all plastic components currently cream-coloured will be replaced. So yes, it's a project. A big one at that, but I don't care. I get the feeling we won't be able to enjoy cars like this for decades to come, so I want to get the most out of it while I can. Besides, we all love a challenge don't we?Exterior: the paint is in reasonably decent condition. We'll put it through a full detail late November, and the front bumper will be replaced for an M-bumper. The rear will receive a Burkhart carbon diffuser, and I'm contemplating a duplex exhaust. Currently the backbox is an aftermarket one with a lovely note to it, so I'm in no rush there. New wheels are in already but probably won't go under this year. Instead I'll fit winter tyres to the current 17 inch wheels and use those over the cold months.
No garage queen then? Nope. It'll be driven whenever the chance presents itself, and hopefully it'll be ready for a few great trips next summer.
