[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

/DRIVE takes a spin in championship winning Turner Z4 GTD

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How much faster is a race car than a street car? To find out, Matt drove BMW's newest version of the Z4, the Z4 sdrive35i, and then jumped into a championship winning Z4 that was built by Turner Motorsport.

[SuckMy_Nick]

Turner FTW!

[M3 Adjuster]

So... BMW... Drop 300-400 lbs from the next z4 and it could be a winning street car!


Great video. lovely sound. Turner rocks. Congratulations!

[wdeerfield]

Turner FTW!

[phoenixbmwlife]

An M version in the E89 era would have been great. An M version in the upcoming newer model will be sublime. Do it BMW! Do it!

[Asbjorn]

Alright, lets do this...

Which segment is the Z4 sDrive35i a part of?

List prices including pre-selected common options in China:
Audi TTS Roadster quattro 272hk - 708,000 RMB (-11%)
BMW sDrive35i 7DCT 306hk - 799,000 RMB (ref)
MB SLK 350 7G-TRONIC 306hk - 898,000 RMB (+12%)
Porsche Boxter S 7PDK 315hk - 970,000 RMB (+21%)
Corvette Stingray Convertible - N/A in China because it would cost +1 million due engine volume tax

What engine is used in all 2009+ Z4 sDrive35i, including the current model year?

The N54 (source www.bmw.de and realoem.com). Also the above video clearly shows an N54 engine under the hood. The N55 was never used in the Z4.

What is the weight penalty of choosing a hard top over a soft top?

Well we don't know for sure. But certainly not several hundred lbs. I would guess half of the weight difference between the Boxter and the Z4 can be explained by the extra turbos and related cooling, torque etc in a turbo vs NA car.

Weight difference between a well equipped Boxter S and a similar equipped sDrive35is, both with DCT: 1620kg - 1445kg = 175kg = 385lbs (source chinese websites of Bmw and Porsche)

Weight difference between Z4 30i 6MT (3.0L non turbo) and Z4 35i 6MT (3.0L twin turbo) in base-trim: 95kg = 209lbs (source: http://e89.zpost.com/forums/attachme...1&d=1303133571)

Left is a weight difference of 176lbs between an imagined non-turbo hard top 35i and a similar equipped soft top Boxter s...

Now back to the original topic...

[Bdh821]

I've been to Turners facility in Amesbury MA. I had them install an OS Giken LSD on my BMW 135i. I was not too impressed with their work as they put the wrong gear oil in the diff.. It was all later resolved (at my expense). I am, however, informed that they are under new management which has been improved.... Cool Z4 tho

[JustChris]

Love the YouTube caption

(SCREAMS UNCONTROLABLY)

[Mavus]

I hope M2 has some of the "laughs uncontrollably" in it!!!

[StealYourFace]

They must have used a rather large shoe horn to get that tub into that tub!

And put a deck of cards under the throttle maybe?

[Kayani_1]

The fact of the matter is that Porsche, Dodge, Audi, Aston Martin and Corvette or some of the other cars Z4 GTD or a Z4 GT American Le mans version separately compete against are based on actual cars those manufacturers have for sale in the showroom. So they actually are using race on Sunday and sell on Monday philosophy.

The BMW Z4 race car and Z4 have nothing in common except for similar shape. There is no production high performance Z4 M coupe with a NA high revving V8 engine for sale at any BMW dealership. At least the M3 E92 race car was based of a high performance E92 M3 coupe with a proper racing pedigree high revving NA engine. One had a easier time routing for it.

BMW, step up and either make a proper Z4 M coupe with a proper NA engine for sale and than race it or go race the new M4 or M6 with turbo engines. Are you not confident in your turbo engines. Why are you racing engines you no longer sell?. Do you not have confidence in your state of the art turbo engines. It is hard to route for your Z4 race cars that have no production basis unlike a 911 or C7 or Viper, or Aston or Ferrari 458 Italia, or Audi R8.

Man up and step your game up. Make racing version of cars and engines that you actually sell. I could care less for these special on off vehicles.

Hell race an i8 in electric hybrid class as you sell it and it would be hell a cool

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by Kayani_1

The fact of the matter is that Porsche, Dodge, Audi, Aston Martin and Corvette or some of the other cars Z4 GTD or a Z4 GT American Le mans version separately compete against are based on actual cars those manufacturers have for sale in the showroom. So they actually are using race on Sunday and sell on Monday philosophy.

The BMW Z4 race car and Z4 have nothing in common except for similar shape. There is no production high performance Z4 M coupe with a NA high revving V8 engine for sale at any BMW dealership. At least the M3 E92 race car was based of a high performance E92 M3 coupe with a proper racing pedigree high revving NA engine. One had a easier time routing for it.

BMW, step up and either make a proper Z4 M coupe with a proper NA engine for sale and than race it or go race the new M4 or M6 with turbo engines. Are you not confident in your turbo engines. Why are you racing engines you no longer sell?. Do you not have confidence in your state of the art turbo engines. It is hard to route for your Z4 race cars that have no production basis unlike a 911 or C7 or Viper, or Aston or Ferrari 458 Italia, or Audi R8.

Man up and step your game up. Make racing version of cars and engines that you actually sell. I could care less for these special on off vehicles.

???

Your post is so misplaced that it borders on absurd.


So wait.... Bmw need to step up their game with their turbos and make a car that can be raced?

Did you not understand that this car was purchased by , modified by , prepped by, and campaigned by TURNER MOTORSPORT?

Why in the heck are you blaming BMW when it is TURNER that modified this car car so it could be raced in the GTD CLASS.

I haven't seen a BMW race car in years other than DTM cars ( a series recently won by BMW Motorsport ) and the M235 Racing. What I have seen is cars that are prepared and campaigned by private Racing teams.


Heck years ago, back when BMW was making naturally aspirated motors only , a special exception was applied for to race the e46m3 with a V8 motor. So the same sort of one off design for racing has been in place for over a decade.

The most recent BMW DTM car of course resembles an actual e92 in as little a way as the turner z4 does an z435is.


By the way,,, please tell us how the competition , the corvette c6r and c7r are production based ..? I would love to hear you explain how little Pratt and Miller does.

In the past Cadillac cts models have resembled nothing like their street car counterparts.

The simple fact is that is very common that RACE cars are a mere shadow of the production vehicles in many race series whether it be ALMS , Grand am, NASCAR or TUDOR.

Apparently the only reason for your post was to stamp your foot and demand that Bmw create a naturally aspirated engine for you ?


PS. An M6 GT3 with 4.4 liter turbo v8 is coming.

[tallshortguy]

Originally Posted by Kayani_1

The fact of the matter is that Porsche, Dodge, Audi, Aston Martin and Corvette or some of the other cars Z4 GTD or a Z4 GT American Le mans version separately compete against are based on actual cars those manufacturers have for sale in the showroom. So they actually are using race on Sunday and sell on Monday philosophy.

The BMW Z4 race car and Z4 have nothing in common except for similar shape. There is no production high performance Z4 M coupe with a NA high revving V8 engine for sale at any BMW dealership. At least the M3 E92 race car was based of a high performance E92 M3 coupe with a proper racing pedigree high revving NA engine. One had a easier time routing for it.

BMW, step up and either make a proper Z4 M coupe with a proper NA engine for sale and than race it or go race the new M4 or M6 with turbo engines. Are you not confident in your turbo engines. Why are you racing engines you no longer sell?. Do you not have confidence in your state of the art turbo engines. It is hard to route for your Z4 race cars that have no production basis unlike a 911 or C7 or Viper, or Aston or Ferrari 458 Italia, or Audi R8.

Man up and step your game up. Make racing version of cars and engines that you actually sell. I could care less for these special on off vehicles.

Hell race an i8 in electric hybrid class as you sell it and it would be hell a cool

You clearly have no clue about FIA GT specs if you think the Z4 GT3/GTD has nothing in common with the road car while the others mentioned do. The Z4 got an exception for the engine based off of the S65, but everything else is in line with standard FIA homologation rules.

Also, BMW is currently building their M6 GT3 with the 4.4 twin turbo V8 based off of the S63 which will replace the Z4, so I'm not sure why you think they're afraid to race with turbos.

[Twix]

The noise that car makes = love. The transmission gear whining makes me wish I could afford it and drive it as my daily.

[VMRWheels]

AMAZING machine. Turner always has awesome builds

[Alext]

Excellent.

[N & M]

It baffles me that a company with so much acheiivement on the track in every catagory including F1 does not have one track oriented sports car in the range. Yes, yes, I know no business case... Yes, yes, I know the customers want gadgets and comforts... One dreams!

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

They must have used a rather large shoe horn to get that tub into that tub!

And put a deck of cards under the throttle maybe?

You are not to kind.

Yeah somehow he looks even bigger than before.

[clbmw]

Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut

You are not to kind.

Yeah somehow he looks even bigger than before.

I have to admit I did grin a little to myself when he was complaining about the extra 300lbs of weight at the beginning

[4corners]

Ok great, love it. My comment is around the referral to his site for the whole review. I'm tired of pop ups and adds on videos and everywhere else. This takes it another step. Just show me the video and quit messing with my viewing pleasure.

[M3 Esq]

Sick car

[Sebringjetta]

pure sex!!!!