Psychedelic Bimmer

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Like, wow man! :)
(www.callaina-design.com)

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Motorsport Z4.

The Motorsport version of the Z4 is one of my favorite race cars, it's a shame that platform has never quite taken off for whatever reason as a racer in the US (well, maybe the 225000 Euro price tag for the factory made car was an issue). In Germany's VLN though they are pretty common so let's ride shotgun with Christoph Koslowski at the Nürburgring. Definitively on my list of cars I would love to drive some day!



Look at that e90 go!... that is some heroic stuff, who needs wings when you have power and balls!
In this one we are riding with Johannes Stuck..




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Z4 Robots

From their on camera performance it's clear BMW used the genuine articles not professional actors to portray the development engineers in charge of the latest Z4 as they take us through all the various rigs used to torture test the new car.



Interesting look at the suspension components in this video.



And here is the rest of it.

So what do you think of the BMW Z4?

Everyone has pictures, how about a video?
And more videos after the jump.

When is a BMW an Audi and an Audi a BMW?

Fantastic info from one of our readers about the Gertrag BMW Z4 we saw at the Nürburgring:

Volker writes:

"The winning Getrag-Z4 does not use BMW's wonderful (but sadly by now outwitted) s54 engine but a used v8 out of an old DTM-Audi tt (when Audi tuner Abt and not Audi themselves raced, some years ago). This engine has been used by Getrag before in their now retired e46-m3 racer.
Rather funny though: the "Audi"-TT engine didn't start life as an Audi engine at all, Abt didn`t have time or resources in those days to build up their own (Audi) motor, so they bought a BMW Race engine from a swiss Race franchise (probably Mader, but I don't know for sure). So, a BMW z4 with a BMW-Audi-BMW-engine. And fast it is..."

Here is an onboard lap in the FrankenZ4 from the ring-emotionen collection.

Razzle Dazzle Ring

You may have noticed that recently there have been a number of prototypes photographed in this odd looking splotchy patterns. The reason of course goes back to WWI submarines. Back then torpedoes were essentially aimed by eye, there was no radar or lasers and painting bizarre patterns on ships was thought to confuse the eye though it was never quite proven to be effective.

Now, can I tie WW I battleships to the "spy"* video of the next generation Z4 testing at the Nürburgring?

Easy, Dazzle Camouflage is related to cubism whose geometric shapes informed pop art of which Roy Lichtenstein was a major exponent and who painted.....wait for it, a BMW! Weeeee!

* that's the best staged "spy" video we have ever seen but that Z4 looks like it's going at a good clip. Rumors have it as a steel roofed convertible, up in size and segment from the present car, an SL fighter?

Is this nasty?

'Ring Megamix

A great clip put together by Renn.tv. A complete on board lap of the Nürburgring in ten different cars during this year's 24hr race. I love when the Z4MCoupé passes the Cayman on the outside and dissapears into the distance....I'm becoming a big fan of the Z4 factory racer, we need to see them here in the USA!

Having driven the track in wimpy rain, the shot from the blue M3 diving down into the foxhole (Fuchsröhre) is especially terrifying and watch for the Porsche hitting the right wall at Adenauer Forst. Actually it looks like the Porsche panzer is not too badly bent considering.

The other money shot for me it the driver of the older Audi 200 giving the car a pat on the dash...I've done that so many times!

A great video from an epic motoring event.




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Funky hood hump behind Sabine's pub

Ed Healey was CG's and my first guide to the Nürburgring, he was brave enough to ride with us as total ring-noobs...in the rain...in a scary car.
Anyway, Ed sent us these shots of a e92 M3, brakes no doubt still hot, parked behind the Sabine's old pub.
Like the black wheels, love the funky hood hump, this M3 is going to be another monster hit for BMW.
OK now, BMW make me happy: drop that v8 into a Z4M Coupé add a carbon roof and a semi-auto shifter and make one of the world's best track cars. That would be 100% Axis Approved!!!

Can a croc kill the 911?

The 911 death watch rang another bell when Uwe Alzen decided to abandon the 911 platform for his latest race car. It is a fairly obvious choice dynamically even considering the amazing success of the "engine in the wrong place" racers.

We had an earlier post with onboard video from a different race Cayman, here are pictures of Alzen Motorsport's race car. As you can see it is a Cayman only because it's a Porsche and has a mid-engine layout...
Anyway, enjoy these detailed shots, you can even read his spring rate!

I'm not sure of the specs for the car, I read somewhere it might have a Carrera GT V10 engine but if that were the case I would be very surprised as this car got beat recently by a Z4 Coupe-GTR driven by Johannes Stuck, son of Hans and a girl, Claudia Hürtgen who moonlights as one of the Ring-Taxi drivers.

Photos Mike Skowronski, high-speed-corner.de

Sexy Bones

The Z4 shape makes for a hell of a nice looking race car. I cannot believe there are none racing in the US today.
Above is the Bonk Motorsport (yes, you read that correctly!) Z4, built on a factory motorsport shell.

* 6 cylinder 2000ccm motor.
* 270hp (202 Kw).
* 6 speed sequential.
* 2204 lbs (1000 Kg).
* 9x17 wheels with Yokohama slicks.

Take a look at the bare chassis... look at that beautiful cage, sexy bones.

Axis of Oversteer reviews the BMW Z4 Coupe 3.0

"I love this car. Let me be clear about that… I don’t LIKE it. I LOVE it. Put another way, there’s simply nothing I hate about it, and only a few small things I don’t love about it. Therefore, my admiration for the BMW Z4 Coupe averages out to love. ....."

Full Review by BadBadM in the AXIS FORUMS

YouTube find of the day...

this looks funny and like fun at the same time!

I like the "My other car is a Z4 M Coupe" billboard (2:50).