BMW Z4 (E85) – Facelift Friday

The BMW Z4 came on the market in 2003 as a successor to the Z3. In terms of lines, the roadster differed considerably from its predecessor. The Z3 was a fairly slender car, the Z4 got more ‘body’ and a more serious appearance. In terms of size, the two are not even very different from each other. The Z4 measures 4.09 meters in length, the Z3 4.05 meters. The Z4 is also about 4 centimeters wider than its predecessor. BMW clearly wanted to put the Z4 a bit higher in the market than the Z3. The Z4 got more luxury on board and was only available with six-cylinder when it was introduced. Only in 2005, just before the facelift, a 150 hp 2.0 four-cylinder was added.

In 2006 quite a bit changed for the Z4. However, those changes were not so much in the roadster’s appearance. At the front, the bumper was overhauled. The round fog lamps from the pre-facelift disappeared and made way for flat ones that were placed above the air intake. That air inlet was cut tighter and changed shape. After the facelift, it was wider at the top than at the bottom, while it was the other way around with the pre-facelift. Another change can be seen in the headlights. They remained the same in shape, but the facelift got bi-xenon headlights. The direction indicators always have blank glass from the facelift. That was an option on the pre-facelift of the Z4.

The taillights received a similar treatment to the headlights. No longer do the turn signals have a circular shape in the center of the taillight, instead they moved to the outside of the light units and a small horizontal line serves as a reversing light. The division of the rear lights also disappeared with the facelift. In the pre-facelift, the rear light consisted of two parts that were not at the same height. A small piece that had the body color of the car ensured the bridging. More towards the bottom, the rear bumper was slightly retouched. For example, in the pre-facelift, two sloping lines ran from the top of the license plate holder to the corners of the rear bumper. They were no longer on the facelift.

Multiple choice

The external changes to the Z4 were not so bad with the facelift. The interior was left untouched by BMW. However, with the facelift an extra body variant of the Z4 was added to the price list: the Z4 Coupé. It also carries the model code E86. The design of the Z4 Coupé clearly shows that the car is basically designed as a roadster. The rear part of the roof and the rear side window have been glued on, as it were, with an increase of the now-disappeared roll bars visible behind the windows. The Z4 Coupé was only available with six-cylinder engines: as a 265 hp 3.0si, which replaced the 3.0i, or as a 343 hp Z4 M Coupé with the 3.2 S54 in-line six from the E46 M3.

BMW Z4 Coupe (E86)

This made the Z4 M the new range topper in the range. In addition to the coupé, the roadster also received an M version. The 170 hp 2.2i in-line six and 192 hp 2.5i disappeared from the engine range, instead the 177 hp 2.5i and 218 hp 2.5si were added to the price list. After the facelift, the previously mentioned 3.0si was the most powerful model without an M badge. At the bottom of the offer was still the 2.0 four-cylinder with 150 hp.

The above-signed is biased with a pre-facelift Z4 in the garage – taken over from colleague Jan Lemkes – but which version of the first Z4 would you prefer to go for a walk? The pre-facelift, or the facelift? Vote!