First Test Report of 1M Coupe PreDrive from Hong Kong Z4 driver

Bigmouth Studio · 11-21-2010, 09:47 AM

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I am the only Asian test driver of this event.
I have a Z4 23i & a X5 30xdrive. I have driven 135 convertible before.

The first impression was not so impressive because the real shape of the car was masked by the camouflage. But I noticed the back of the car was so wide. The sound of starting the engine was wonderful. The clutch is not extremely hard. The gear shift distance is short & precise. Easy to handle (this is my 1st time driving a left-hand drive MT car).

After we went onto the highway, it was raining heavily. I already noticed the steering was very sensitive. The dampers were so good & no jumping at all. Even passing puddles, the car remained in the driving line. I can easily feel the movement of the chassis from my seat. I can overtake easily while on 6th gear just by putting my right foot to the gas paddle. Then we went onto small country road. The chassis remained clean & accurate even we were driving 100km/hr.

On the test track, it was also raining heavily & my car was loaded with 4 people including me. I could not push the car to the limit. The brake was very strong & smooth. It could bring my car from 200km/hr to 100km/hr before the U turn quickly & I only needed to down shift 1 gear to slow down the car. Even I used 3rd gear at the U turn, the power remained & I can shift to 4th gear after the apex. No turbo lag was experienced. I noticed the toque remained almost abundant from 2000rev up to 5500rev.

The interior is little bit boring because the layout same as normal 1 series. Only the orange stitches & bucket seat were attractive.

The exterior of the car is aggressive. Thank you to the front bumper, wide fender & nice looking wheels. If it is orange, you will recognize this is an M car easily. There will be a LED line above the headlight. The tail light use the L shape LED thick strip. The back diffuser housed 4 exhausts.

What I like: the highly balanced chassis with the bi-turbo engine
What I dislike: still a little bit under-power if this is an M car. The interior is not very interesting.

spiderz17 · 11-21-2010, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmouth Studio

I noticed the toque remained almost abundant from 2000rev up to 5500rev.

Thanks for the write-up. One additional question from the quote above: did the power feel like it dropped off at 5500 rpm, forcing you to shift before redline? I know you said you couldn't push the car to its limit, so you may not have been able to test this out. Thanks.

MrRoboto · 11-21-2010, 10:14 AM

Only the orange stitches & bucket seat were attractive.

I guess we have our answer on the stitching

blueshark · 11-21-2010, 10:15 AM

How many people were in the car? Weight could have held the car back quite a bit!

TunedM2C · 11-21-2010, 10:20 AM

^ At least another 450 pounds (3 people x ~150 pounds).

Cris · 11-21-2010, 10:33 AM

Good write up. For some (if not most) people, keeping the interior simple and un-distracting is a plus. Without the bells and whistles with today's vehicles, the driver can maintain his/her attention on the road and actually enjoy the driving experience. I think today's society is so detached from the joy of driving because a lot of folks are multitasked, overscheduled and forget to set a little time aside for simple things like driving.

blueshark · 11-21-2010, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuned1

^ At least another 450 pounds (3 people x ~150 pounds).

Probably more like 3 x 175 lbs = over 500 lbs.
Big, big difference vs a single driver.
More power would be nice nonetheless.

02fireman · 11-21-2010, 10:56 AM

Any mention by anyone about limited numbers? (if you are allowed to disclose).

Crazy Bimmer · 11-21-2010, 11:03 AM

Thanks for the review!

After the event, did you feel as if you wanted one?

TunedM2C · 11-21-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueshark

Probably more like 3 x 175 lbs = over 500 lbs.
Big, big difference vs a single driver.
More power would be nice nonetheless.

I was trying to be as conservative as possible

gobuffs · 11-21-2010, 11:06 AM

You had the best quote in the video!

blueshark · 11-21-2010, 11:17 AM

Yes, I loved the "terrible" characterization, if that's what you're referring to -
It captures the imagination better than other commentary so far.

Dan535is · 11-21-2010, 11:36 AM

Great review...but an LED line above the headlight? Not so sure I like the sound of that.

pyrat · 11-21-2010, 11:40 AM

thanks for the writeup. sounds like a cool experience

Evolution_GT · 11-21-2010, 12:05 PM

Great review, one question though, do you know if the angel eyes are white or yellow?

bobloblaw · 11-21-2010, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan K

Great review...but an LED line above the headlight? Not so sure I like the sound of that.

Don't worry, I don't think it's going to be like Audi's LED strips, it is just the BMW eyebrows that have been on the cars for a while.

JB135MDCT · 11-21-2010, 01:05 PM

Bigmouth, Is the vertical air duct real and does it feed a brake duct?

as7920 · 11-21-2010, 01:36 PM

$64k question (which someone else posed), after driving it, will you still buy it?

330CIZHP · 11-21-2010, 01:56 PM

From your write up, it is clear that the engine ran out of steam after 5500 rpm similar to the N54 engine?? I assume, the redline just like in the publicity shots was 7000 rpm??

oman135 · 11-21-2010, 02:11 PM

135i with a tune and u have the same power !

blueshark · 11-21-2010, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oman135

135i with a tune and u have the same power !

It won't have the cooling, chassis, suspension, warranty, or "cool factor" though.

treehacker · 11-21-2010, 03:15 PM

The EU is not making LED Stripes obligated.....hehe. Than all cars would look like audis :-P
There is only a law that all new cars by January 2011 must have Day-Lights.
And the Daylights from BMW are the angle-eyes. So .. no audi led stripe.
I think the new eyebrow will be some additional design element.

11-21-2010, 09:47 AM	#1
Bigmouth Studio Lieutenant 285 Rep 514 Posts Drives: BMW Z4 M40i Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: HKSAR iTrader: (0) Garage List 2020 BMW Z4 M40i [8.00]	First Test Report of 1M Coupe PreDrive from Hong Kong Z4 driver Featured on 1ADDICTS HOMEPAGE I am the only Asian test driver of this event. I have a Z4 23i & a X5 30xdrive. I have driven 135 convertible before. The first impression was not so impressive because the real shape of the car was masked by the camouflage. But I noticed the back of the car was so wide. The sound of starting the engine was wonderful. The clutch is not extremely hard. The gear shift distance is short & precise. Easy to handle (this is my 1st time driving a left-hand drive MT car). After we went onto the highway, it was raining heavily. I already noticed the steering was very sensitive. The dampers were so good & no jumping at all. Even passing puddles, the car remained in the driving line. I can easily feel the movement of the chassis from my seat. I can overtake easily while on 6th gear just by putting my right foot to the gas paddle. Then we went onto small country road. The chassis remained clean & accurate even we were driving 100km/hr. On the test track, it was also raining heavily & my car was loaded with 4 people including me. I could not push the car to the limit. The brake was very strong & smooth. It could bring my car from 200km/hr to 100km/hr before the U turn quickly & I only needed to down shift 1 gear to slow down the car. Even I used 3rd gear at the U turn, the power remained & I can shift to 4th gear after the apex. No turbo lag was experienced. I noticed the toque remained almost abundant from 2000rev up to 5500rev. The interior is little bit boring because the layout same as normal 1 series. Only the orange stitches & bucket seat were attractive. The exterior of the car is aggressive. Thank you to the front bumper, wide fender & nice looking wheels. If it is orange, you will recognize this is an M car easily. There will be a LED line above the headlight. The tail light use the L shape LED thick strip. The back diffuser housed 4 exhausts. What I like: the highly balanced chassis with the bi-turbo engine What I dislike: still a little bit under-power if this is an M car. The interior is not very interesting. __________________ BMWCCOZHK, The official BMW car club of Hong Kong My IG: Hong Kong BMW G29 Z4 M40i
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11-21-2010, 10:14 AM	#3
MrRoboto Brigadier General 1846 Rep 4,836 Posts Drives: VO 1M Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Canada iTrader: (0)	Only the orange stitches & bucket seat were attractive. I guess we have our answer on the stitching
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11-21-2010, 10:15 AM	#4
blueshark First Lieutenant 50 Rep 337 Posts Drives: "transportation" for now Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: midwest iTrader: (0)	How many people were in the car? Weight could have held the car back quite a bit!
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11-21-2010, 10:20 AM	#5
TunedM2C Brigadier General 828 Rep 4,190 Posts Drives: 2016 LBB M2 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Earth iTrader: (2)	^ At least another 450 pounds (3 people x ~150 pounds).
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11-21-2010, 10:33 AM	#6
Cris What's FWD? 10 Rep 398 Posts Drives: Former E82, current E39 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Denver, CO iTrader: (0)	Good write up. For some (if not most) people, keeping the interior simple and un-distracting is a plus. Without the bells and whistles with today's vehicles, the driver can maintain his/her attention on the road and actually enjoy the driving experience. I think today's society is so detached from the joy of driving because a lot of folks are multitasked, overscheduled and forget to set a little time aside for simple things like driving.
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11-21-2010, 10:56 AM	#8
02fireman Second Lieutenant 7 Rep 294 Posts Drives: Twistys Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Central Fl. iTrader: (0)	Any mention by anyone about limited numbers? (if you are allowed to disclose). __________________ Z4M Coupe 6MT Monaco Blue #13/36 ...Keeper... Z4 3.0 6MT ...Keeper... 2OO2 5MT ...Keeper... 335i 6MT Montego Blue M-Sport (Retired),X535d Vermillion Red/Saddle (Retired)
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11-21-2010, 11:03 AM	#9
Crazy Bimmer The Jesal 391 Rep 5,859 Posts Drives: E90 M3 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Chicago IL iTrader: (20) Garage List 2009 BMW M3 [0.00]	Thanks for the review! After the event, did you feel as if you wanted one? __________________ 2009 E90 M3 - SOLD
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11-21-2010, 11:06 AM	#11
gobuffs Captain 74 Rep 709 Posts Drives: E30 M3 S54 (race car) Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Texas iTrader: (4)	You had the best quote in the video!
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11-21-2010, 11:17 AM	#12
blueshark First Lieutenant 50 Rep 337 Posts Drives: "transportation" for now Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: midwest iTrader: (0)	Yes, I loved the "terrible" characterization, if that's what you're referring to - It captures the imagination better than other commentary so far.
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11-21-2010, 11:36 AM	#13
Dan535is New Member 2 Rep 21 Posts Drives: '88 535is /'75 911/'08 135i Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ambler, PA iTrader: (0)	Great review...but an LED line above the headlight? Not so sure I like the sound of that.
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11-21-2010, 11:40 AM	#14
pyrat First Lieutenant 16 Rep 329 Posts Drives: 3 series Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: New England iTrader: (0)	thanks for the writeup. sounds like a cool experience
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11-21-2010, 12:05 PM	#15
Evolution_GT Captain 91 Rep 856 Posts Drives: 08A22E93N52 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Toronto iTrader: (0)	Great review, one question though, do you know if the angel eyes are white or yellow? __________________
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11-21-2010, 01:05 PM	#17
JB135MDCT I'm just a cook 24 Rep 971 Posts Drives: 2011 135i DCT Join Date: May 2010 Location: MD iTrader: (0)	Bigmouth, Is the vertical air duct real and does it feed a brake duct?
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11-21-2010, 01:36 PM	#18
as7920 Colonel 597 Rep 2,375 Posts Drives: 2023 SG/FR M4 xDrive Competiti Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	$64k question (which someone else posed), after driving it, will you still buy it?
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11-21-2010, 01:56 PM	#19
330CIZHP Major 62 Rep 1,211 Posts Drives: BMW 330 CI ZHP Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Calgary, Alberta iTrader: (0)	From your write up, it is clear that the engine ran out of steam after 5500 rpm similar to the N54 engine?? I assume, the redline just like in the publicity shots was 7000 rpm?? __________________ ""A great sounding, responsive, high-revving, naturally aspirated engine is part of the DNA of a thoroughbred sports car. No two ways about it." - Lamborghini on turbocharging
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11-21-2010, 02:11 PM	#20
oman135 Major 69 Rep 1,041 Posts Drives: F80 M3 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Oman-Muscat iTrader: (0)	135i with a tune and u have the same power ! __________________ 2016 YMB F80 M3
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11-21-2010, 03:15 PM	#22
treehacker Private First Class 7 Rep 129 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: worldwide iTrader: (0)	The EU is not making LED Stripes obligated.....hehe. Than all cars would look like audis :-P There is only a law that all new cars by January 2011 must have Day-Lights. And the Daylights from BMW are the angle-eyes. So .. no audi led stripe. I think the new eyebrow will be some additional design element.
	Appreciate 0 Quote