Roadster owners look away - esp. Goldbcfc!

[goldbcfc]

Have to disagree with you there - you've picked a selection of 4 seat convertibles - surely the most compromised design ethos of all. Even if you stick an M3 engine in a topless saloon it's still not going to be as good as the equivalent coupe. So they're just for posing and the last person to look impressive in a 4seat convertible was Hitler :wink:

"You said no convertible looks good with roof up" then go on to then say after "no car with cloth top". The cars pictured were just examples, if you think the look better top down that's your opinion. Having driven both cars I can tell you there no real difference in performance or handling both are amazing. You would have to be some serious track addict to really benefit having a coupe over vert. Of course over many laps the coupe would lap quicker and pull away. E46 M3 has always been split into groups anyway coupe owners who like to drive and convertible owners who like to be seen driving.

 

[patriot66]

Clearly I need to refine my statement... Cloth roofed convertibles never look great with the roof up... .

still have to disagree e64 is one hell of a good looking car roof up and with roof down it looks worse same case with the e93 only the E46 could ever really pull off both look with a cloth roof up or down likes perfect both ways

Sorry but I disagree. The E64 either hood up or down or coupe version is utterly hideous. A dull side profile with weak front end, dodgy headlights and cut down grilles, and the rear is just awful like the E65 7series !

 

[goldbcfc]

I actually think the Z and the 6 series were the turning point to the new look evolution of bmw's. Starting with the bigger wider nose grille we see on bmw's today rather than the older square look from older models. The side on view is rather nice, the front needs some adjusting with a modified bumper to make it look more aggressive then that works fine its not really nice then and the rear is a lot like the Z4C really. We all have different views what's nice I used to hate Z's and 6 series its only the last few years looking at the new bmw F evolutions. I now see where bmw was going with their transition in design.

copied from wikipedia

"Car & Driver magazine commented that it "virtually defined the “Bangle Butt,” perhaps the industry's most obnoxious posterior"





modified front bumper

 

[z4pilot]

Have to disagree with you there - you've picked a selection of 4 seat convertibles - surely the most compromised design ethos of all. Even if you stick an M3 engine in a topless saloon it's still not going to be as good as the equivalent coupe. So they're just for posing and the last person to look impressive in a 4seat convertible was Hitler :wink:

"You said no convertible looks good with roof up" then go on to then say after "no car with cloth top". The cars pictured were just examples, if you think the look better top down that's your opinion. Having driven both cars I can tell you there no real difference in performance or handling both are amazing. You would have to be some serious track addict to really benefit having a coupe over vert. Of course over many laps the coupe would lap quicker and pull away. E46 M3 has always been split into groups anyway coupe owners who like to drive and convertible owners who like to be seen driving.

Just to be clear, when I said that, I was thinking of traditional convertibles rather than metal roofed convertibles. Tin top convertibles have their own design challenges to overcome, which generally are better resolved in two seat cars as they have less roof to stow and as a result look less like a convertible and more like a permanently roofed car. 4 seat tin tops are usually hideous hood up or down because of the size and height of boot needed to stow the roof. Look away now!




Something I bet we both agree on!

 

[Steve84N]

Top up soft tops remind me of prams, much better down.

 

[BMWZ4MC]

Have to disagree with you there - you've picked a selection of 4 seat convertibles - surely the most compromised design ethos of all. Even if you stick an M3 engine in a topless saloon it's still not going to be as good as the equivalent coupe. So they're just for posing and the last person to look impressive in a 4seat convertible was Hitler :wink:

"You said no convertible looks good with roof up" then go on to then say after "no car with cloth top". The cars pictured were just examples, if you think the look better top down that's your opinion. Having driven both cars I can tell you there no real difference in performance or handling both are amazing. You would have to be some serious track addict to really benefit having a coupe over vert. Of course over many laps the coupe would lap quicker and pull away. E46 M3 has always been split into groups anyway coupe owners who like to drive and convertible owners who like to be seen driving.

The handling of the E46 M3 convertible is absolutely shocking - it wallows around corners with huge body roll, pushing on into understeer if even a little too much speed is carried into a bend.
Whilst they look good with the roof down and reasonable with a hardtop, the sheer acreage of canvas when the soft top is closed ruins a car that is extremely well resolved in coupe guise.
I can understand why you might like them, but don't kid yourself there's "no real difference in performance or handling" or that "both are amazing"!

 

[goldbcfc]

The handling of the E46 M3 convertible is absolutely shocking - it wallows around corners with huge body roll, pushing on into understeer if even a little too much speed is carried into a bend.

You would have to be some serious track addict to really benefit having a coupe over vert. Of course over many laps the coupe would lap quicker and pull away.

like I said you would have to be some serious track addict to really benefit convertible isn't that bad at all

 

[Beedub]

The handling of the E46 M3 convertible is absolutely shocking - it wallows around corners with huge body roll, pushing on into understeer if even a little too much speed is carried into a bend.

You would have to be some serious track addict to really benefit having a coupe over vert. Of course over many laps the coupe would lap quicker and pull away.

like I said you would have to be some serious track addict to really benefit convertible isn't that bad at all

i think we are loosing site of the z4c z4r situation , these are both purpose from the off built roadster / coupe, they are like the boxster and cayman ... forget rigidity/handling and go for the one you like... the e85 platform is very impressive to this day. it cant be compared to larger cars that were not designed to be roofless from the off.

take the aesthetics as the main choice as to why you'd choice which one you want... I see a interlagos z4m occasionally, its slightly modded, and immaculate, let me tell you, when it blasts past my house i literally stop and think gorgeous, not many cars do that to me today, sam with the coupe but for ME the roadster, roof down, windows down, side covers in place is just perfect, particularly in ///M form with the added beef to its looks.