I've owned Milla the MR two weeks now and done everything from the short run out on an evening, long journey back down from Manchester in the rain and hour long blast down country lanes at sundown. This being my 3rd Zed and 2nd M, a few people have asked about the difference and I feel I know enough about the car now to write a short comparison to owning both MR and MC.
First off, I love this engine. I don't just mean I like this engine, I actually mean I love it. After living with a plenty fast twin turbo 335 for a few months - with it's minimal-yet-noticable-to-me twin turbo lag, stepping back into the naturally aspirated 3.2 M was like meeting an old girlfriend you still really fancy and one you'd throw it all away for to get back with. The 335 would surprise you with it's rocket propulsion but give you enough mind time to get ready for it. Turn the key and put your foot down in the M and she shocks you into action, punching you in the face, telling you that if you're not in complete control from the word go then you're going to die. It's an addictive feeling and for anybody out there considering the move to M I can't recommend trying one highly enough. You will be smitten.
So onto the comparison between vert and tintop and first off, the obvious. Engine and exhaust note drama is heightened by the lack of surrounding bodywork. Even with the hood up the growling burble outside is a wonderful experience and it sort of fades back and forth in your head between exhaust and engine as you press the pedal harder. You find yourself deliberately leaving it in 4th or 5th when you should ideally be in 3rd or 2nd just to hear the pops and splutterfest going on behind you. You do the same in the MC but with a downed roof, noise and expanse around you at speed it truly epic with a danger not present in the coupe. That sense of mortality as you zip closely past a lorry at speed, dropping a cog and listening to the mix of 3.2 soundtrack and buffeting wind noise. The best time is at night, when the sun has been down an hour, the sky inkey blue and the air laden with moisture ensuring a perfect engine soundtrack. Completely open to the elements, heated seats and blowers on it feels like a late stage in Out Run but the Fast & Furious version that Sega never got to make. The Coupe equally epic but that sense of openness really cant be discounted. Both feel planted on the road but perhaps the MC feels a little more so albeit only slightly; and it may well be my imagination or pre-wired idea that roof = stability.
As a creative, looks are important to me and the MR doesn't disappoint especially in the colour I've bought. For me a car needs to feel really special or different and it was always going to be an individual type of MR that would turn my head. If it hadn't of been this then I would now be the owner of an Alpina I'm sure of it - again for the sense of individuality. I don't think the MR has the same presence as the MC. There's something about the lines of the Coupe that do things to me! The roof line into rear screen, that back end and those small rear windows. Compared to the relatively sober design of the MR it's no contest (although the MR is infinitely quicker to wash and dry!).
And that's probably where I'm at with it all. I've owned a 3.0 - my entry point into the world of the Z4, an MC - bought as my 'ultimate non-supercar', became a father and bought a 335 before realising that life doesn't have to change too much if you have children and a second decent family wagon. The MR is a beautiful car, one of only nine in the country and on 45k miles a pretty good buy; I'll be enjoying the delights to come for a while yet...
...but one day I may [will] just need to scratch that MC itch once again.
above: even though they were related, they really couldn't stand each other.
First off, I love this engine. I don't just mean I like this engine, I actually mean I love it. After living with a plenty fast twin turbo 335 for a few months - with it's minimal-yet-noticable-to-me twin turbo lag, stepping back into the naturally aspirated 3.2 M was like meeting an old girlfriend you still really fancy and one you'd throw it all away for to get back with. The 335 would surprise you with it's rocket propulsion but give you enough mind time to get ready for it. Turn the key and put your foot down in the M and she shocks you into action, punching you in the face, telling you that if you're not in complete control from the word go then you're going to die. It's an addictive feeling and for anybody out there considering the move to M I can't recommend trying one highly enough. You will be smitten.
So onto the comparison between vert and tintop and first off, the obvious. Engine and exhaust note drama is heightened by the lack of surrounding bodywork. Even with the hood up the growling burble outside is a wonderful experience and it sort of fades back and forth in your head between exhaust and engine as you press the pedal harder. You find yourself deliberately leaving it in 4th or 5th when you should ideally be in 3rd or 2nd just to hear the pops and splutterfest going on behind you. You do the same in the MC but with a downed roof, noise and expanse around you at speed it truly epic with a danger not present in the coupe. That sense of mortality as you zip closely past a lorry at speed, dropping a cog and listening to the mix of 3.2 soundtrack and buffeting wind noise. The best time is at night, when the sun has been down an hour, the sky inkey blue and the air laden with moisture ensuring a perfect engine soundtrack. Completely open to the elements, heated seats and blowers on it feels like a late stage in Out Run but the Fast & Furious version that Sega never got to make. The Coupe equally epic but that sense of openness really cant be discounted. Both feel planted on the road but perhaps the MC feels a little more so albeit only slightly; and it may well be my imagination or pre-wired idea that roof = stability.
As a creative, looks are important to me and the MR doesn't disappoint especially in the colour I've bought. For me a car needs to feel really special or different and it was always going to be an individual type of MR that would turn my head. If it hadn't of been this then I would now be the owner of an Alpina I'm sure of it - again for the sense of individuality. I don't think the MR has the same presence as the MC. There's something about the lines of the Coupe that do things to me! The roof line into rear screen, that back end and those small rear windows. Compared to the relatively sober design of the MR it's no contest (although the MR is infinitely quicker to wash and dry!).
And that's probably where I'm at with it all. I've owned a 3.0 - my entry point into the world of the Z4, an MC - bought as my 'ultimate non-supercar', became a father and bought a 335 before realising that life doesn't have to change too much if you have children and a second decent family wagon. The MR is a beautiful car, one of only nine in the country and on 45k miles a pretty good buy; I'll be enjoying the delights to come for a while yet...
...but one day I may [will] just need to scratch that MC itch once again.
above: even though they were related, they really couldn't stand each other.
By the seaside...
1066 Country
I am of course, very happy with my new vert toy 
