2006 BMW Z4 in Roseville

It's been a very long time since BMW came up with a show car that caused any of us to gasp with pleasure, to make us say, "Gotta have it!" X Coupe? Nah. CS1? Not really. xActivity? Thanks, but no thanks. This year at the Frankfurt show, however, almost out of the blue, BMW unwrapped a car that gets ten out of ten on the desirability scale.

Two days after the show closed, we had a date with the new Z4 coupe concept. (Sure, it's a concept-except that it looks virtually identical to the car that will go into production next July.) After spending half a day with the compact crowd-stopper in a derelict factory complex on the outskirts of Munich, we can report that this thing is not only a gorgeous looker, it also plays one of the catchiest street-legal sound tracks. In the huge architectural echo chamber, part-throttle was the stuff goose bumps are made of, and giving it stick almost instantly separated the mortar from the bricks. Our "test track" was long enough to grab the attention of every alpha male in the building but not quite what we needed to write a proper road test, unfortunately.

Unlike the oddly shaped roadster, the coupe has a rare beauty. In fixed-roof form, the Z4's proportions are spot-on rather than ho-hum, its solid stance substantially im-proved by the self-conscious nineteen-inch wheels and tires. The paint, which lacks gloss and shimmer, emphasizes the dazzling contours rather than the controversial cutlines. The unusual matte finish isn't the only thing that catches your eyes-the car's surfaces actually feel as though they were sculpted from a solid piece.

"The response at Frankfurt was overwhelmingly positive," says chief brand de-signer Adrian van Hooydonk, smiling broadly.... Read full article