Bibbs

Z4M .. almost drove into the back of one, he was that slow

Nick Graves

I suspect the SLK was optimised around the 350 & dropping in that bloody great heavy V8 probably did it no favours at all. The definition of overkill.

Does the z4M handle OK? I have my suspicions about the McPherson struts & over-tyredness.

chilled

Reading between the lines of the reviews, I would expect the Z4M to be explosive quick in a straight line, but more of a sledghammer than a scalpel, probably the same for the SLK too. Whereas the S is quite a precise car.

Nottm_S2

I cant abide the Z4 looks otherwise the M or the Alpina would be cars i'd consider. To me it looks like a big fat bird squeezed into a three sizes too small dress.

Nick Graves

Looks like a 'marital aid' on wheels.

Mike9000

Not really overkill. Whilst - as I say - I did NOT like the slush-box, I gotta say, the car handled pretty well. You could tell there was a biggish lump up front and the steering was somewhat over-assisted to compensate, but the car could be hurled through corners no problem - almost as if on rails. Ride-wise, the whole car had a slightly TT-esque feel about it - as in a bit wooden.

The Z4M handled quite well. You could certainly feel that heavy old S54 engine up front (the new V8 in the new M3 is actually lighter). The ride was a little jarring, but the car could be hustled through corners effectively enough - LOTS of grip.

Both of the above cars are - I consider FWIW - TOO heavy to be proper sportscars. OK, so the Honda 'only' has a 2L engine, but the weight and rearwards placement of that (fine) small engine gives the whole car a light pointy feel that I really like. Less IS more

Mike

Nick Graves

That's sort of what I thought would be the case. Perhaps OTT rather than overkill would have been a better expression.

That new V8 is a superb engine & evidence of why a small-block V8 will always suit a sports car better than a straight-six does. More compact & lighter.

But I agree; I would say about 1,500Kg really is a break point over which cars seem to feel too lumpen.

MRmike

[QUOTE=Mike9000,Sep 3 2007, 07:48 AM] Not really overkill. Whilst - as I say - I did NOT like the slush-box, I gotta say, the car handled pretty well. You could tell there was a biggish lump up front and the steering was somewhat over-assisted to compensate, but the car could be hurled through corners no problem - almost as if on rails. Ride-wise, the whole car had a slightly TT-esque feel about it - as in a bit wooden.

The Z4M handled quite well. You could certainly feel that heavy old S54 engine up front (the new V8 in the new M3 is actually lighter). The ride was a little jarring, but the car could be hustled through corners effectively enough - LOTS of grip.

Both of the above cars are - I consider FWIW - TOO heavy to be proper sportscars. OK, so the Honda 'only' has a 2L engine, but the weight and rearwards placement of that (fine) small engine gives the whole car a light pointy feel that I really like. Less IS more

Bada Bing!

From what I've read, the Z4M has a particularly hard ride, with minimal suspension travel. The S by contrast has a fair bit of travel, and takes crappy surfaces pretty well.

If you're not confident (maybe even if you were), I reckon most drivers would be slower in a car like that than an S.

SiCr

Yeah but you're trying to scare BMW drivers to death in the Batmobile

One at a time, one at a time....