Electric Z4

W

Wyldie85

Senior member
 Farnham, Surrey
So it seems despite sales picking up recently and demand for the Z4 on the up, there’s an interesting article about making the Z4 electric.

I don’t have an opinion either way. Was just interested in peoples thoughts on a two seater electric car, instead of a four seater grand tourer.

https://www.bmwblog.com/2021/05/10/could-the-bmw-z4-roadster-make-a-return-as-an-electric-sports-car/
 
Its hard for me to have an opinion having never driven an electric car, cant help feeling it would be a soulless experience but I'd like to be convinced otherwise
 
Worse still arriving at your destination and its start raining and the roof won't go up.

I think I would have one, look at the first Tesla, it was an Elise so could be good to drive :D
 
It actually makes a lot of sense. Keep in mind that a lot of people on here who enjoy long drives all over the country are not exactly "typical" owners. Most people with roadsters drive locally, and for a lot it is a second car, so range matters a lot less. BMW have a choice though... make an electric Z4 (or some other name) or exit the roadster market in a few years.
 
Once proper infrastructure is available I might consider it.
My car is used as a toy and in normal times a Euro trip - we will need to see hotels have charge points available before it works properly for me.

My drive down to Baden Württemberg is now done in two hops - I think that would have to be done in three or more unless technology drastically improves!
 
mr.tourette said:
Its hard for me to have an opinion having never driven an electric car, cant help feeling it would be a soulless experience but I'd like to be convinced otherwise
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I've also never driven one but I have been a passenger in a Tesla and anything with that stunning acceleration cannot be soulless
 
Gonna need a much better sound generator! :D

No exhaust note, no roadster experience for me. :thumbsdown:
 
We have an i3 as well as the zed and a 987 Boxster S. The i3 is an absolute hoot to drive - it’s centre of gravity is SO low as the batteries are in the floor, and the torque!

I was always an electric skeptic and thought my other half had had a bang on the head when he said he wanted an i3, but coming from 2 petrol heads, electric is probably the future.

I’m still having an internal struggle about the lack of engine noise and ‘mechanical feel’ of electric though. That’s something I just don’t know about. I love my zed for all of that. But an electric sports car? We’ll have to see. I don’t know that an electric sports car will have all the thrills that you’d expect - torque, centre of gravity and smoothness is one thing, but there’s still a place in my heart for a good engine note and a bit of proper mechanical oompf!
 
sp3ctre said:
It actually makes a lot of sense. Keep in mind that a lot of people on here who enjoy long drives all over the country are not exactly "typical" owners. Most people with roadsters drive locally, and for a lot it is a second car, so range matters a lot less. BMW have a choice though... make an electric Z4 (or some other name) or exit the roadster market in a few years.
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Not sure I follow that argument. Even a short spitted drive will kill the range of any current electric vehicle, so there still needs to be a significant advance in the tech before I can see this appealing to me. May not be typical, but I can empty the tank on my MR in a day enjoying it locally. By which I mean a 200+ mile Sunday jaunt across the moors or down to Lands end and back on the fun roads. The South Wales Z4 meet is another Day out, that requires a full tank, from here.

I agree with your second point though.
 
buzyg said:
sp3ctre said:
It actually makes a lot of sense. Keep in mind that a lot of people on here who enjoy long drives all over the country are not exactly "typical" owners. Most people with roadsters drive locally, and for a lot it is a second car, so range matters a lot less. BMW have a choice though... make an electric Z4 (or some other name) or exit the roadster market in a few years.
Click to expand...

Not sure I follow that argument. Even a short spitted drive will kill the range of any current electric vehicle, so there still needs to be a significant advance in the tech before I can see this appealing to me. May not be typical, but I can empty the tank on my MR in a day enjoying it locally. By which I mean a 200+ mile Sunday jaunt across the moors or down to Lands end and back on the fun roads. The South Wales Z4 meet is another Day out, that requires a full tank, from here.

I agree with your second point though.
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Yeah, but my main point is most Z4 owners probably go a month on a tank, driving around town and to the shops. As much as we see spirited drives being a key part of roadster ownership I think most people buy them because they look good on the drive.

That’s just a hunch though, from seeing the traffic around my locality
 
sp3ctre said:
buzyg said:
sp3ctre said:
It actually makes a lot of sense. Keep in mind that a lot of people on here who enjoy long drives all over the country are not exactly "typical" owners. Most people with roadsters drive locally, and for a lot it is a second car, so range matters a lot less. BMW have a choice though... make an electric Z4 (or some other name) or exit the roadster market in a few years.
Click to expand...

Not sure I follow that argument. Even a short spitted drive will kill the range of any current electric vehicle, so there still needs to be a significant advance in the tech before I can see this appealing to me. May not be typical, but I can empty the tank on my MR in a day enjoying it locally. By which I mean a 200+ mile Sunday jaunt across the moors or down to Lands end and back on the fun roads. The South Wales Z4 meet is another Day out, that requires a full tank, from here.

I agree with your second point though.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but my main point is most Z4 owners probably go a month on a tank, driving around town and to the shops. As much as we see spirited drives being a key part of roadster ownership I think most people buy them because they look good on the drive.

That’s just a hunch though, from seeing the traffic around my locality
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You need to move boss. :D

Your right of course My wife's Mx5 needs a run at weekends, just to keep the battery charged, after her 3 mile round trip, daily commute.

So she can have the electric one. :wink:
 
I drove the Porsche Taycan a while back, in 2025 all company cars here will need to be electric (still hoping it will get delayed).
Except that it felt really heavy compared to the Z4, it was a really nice car to drive, in the SPORT + mode you get a nice unique sound from the car, and the range was bigger than what i get with the Z in sport+ .
I haven't tried charging it but they claim on a supercharger it takes only 15minutes to get it to 80% which does make it acceptable for road trips too :)

If they remove the engine from the Z there is plenty of room for batteries so the range might still be acceptable :)

I wouldn't be opposed to an electric Z, but I would miss the exhaust sound so much, lately I mostly drive with the music off so I can hear the car :)
 
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?
 
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.
 
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.
 
ori said:
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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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?
 
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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