Due to be launched on the market in the spring of 2013, the brand new BMW Z4 has been recently unveiled by the renowned German automaker. A striking, new change is that BMW has added a brand new entry-level variant which will be reportedly available in Europe and some other places, without including the United States.
Named the sDrive18i, it sports a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder gasoline engine developing 154 HP (115 kW) and 240 Nm (177 lb-ft) of torque. Also standard is the 6-speed manual gearbox, but, if the customer is willing to pay more, BMW can fit the car with an optional 8-speed automatic transmission.
The performance figures of this motorization are as expected – the 2014 Z4 can each 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in 7.9 seconds with the manual and in 8.1 seconds with the automatic, up to a top speed of 221 km/h (137 mph). The fuel consumption is pretty low as well, reaching 6.8-liters per 100 km (41.5 mpg UK or 34.6 mpg US) mixed.
The United States-available motorizations of the 2014 BMW Z4 are as follows: a 4-cylinder 2.0-liter engine in the sDrive28i, which develops 240 HP (179 kW), a 6-cylinder, 3.0-liter engine, generating 300 HP (224 kW), under the bonnet of the sDrive35i, and a broader 6-cylinder engine in the sDrive36is, delivering as much as 335 HP (250 kW).
Design-wise, BMW has redesigned the LED headlights, while additional designs for the 17-inch and 18-inch wheels have also been launched. The tapered surround of the side indicators has been reworked as well.
[BMW]
