All the cars released nowadays are inevitably going to weigh more than the generation they replace. With stricter safety standards (increasing number of airbags, electronic nannies) and gadgets (sat nav, heated, electric seats - they weigh a ton, climate control), every big car manufacturer has to please a increasingly demanding market and govt safety and emissions standards. Niche car companies like Lotus are now expanding their lineup to include such features (the Evora). I mean how many people actually daily drive their Elise?

It seems odd to me that some people still expect a car to weigh no less than 3200lbs. Especially when it comes to a ''luxurious'' sports car. 99,9% of the customers won't even care if the Z4 is slower around the track than an Elise. Unfortunately, the only ''hardcore'' cars left are the S2000 (which to most people, would be uncomfortable) , Elise, Ariel Atom, etc. These cars will never be segment leaders, which is what BMW is attempting to do. The next gen Boxster will probably outweigh the current gen unless they downsize it like Nissan did with the 370Z.