Our good friend Jonathan Spira is currently driving a 2009 BMW Z4sDrive23i on a wine tour of Austria.

“The weather in early September is just about perfect, with daytime temperatures around 21° C, cooling down to a comfortable 14° C in the evening.In other words, it’s the perfect weather to be driving a roadster.

BMW introduced its first roadster, the 315/1, in 1934 at the Berlin Motor Show.The 315 featured a long engine compartment, a six-cylinder motor, two sports seats, and a speedometer that went up to 150 km/h. The result? Instant Freude am Fahren (Joy of Driving, BMW’s tagline).

After selling 230 roadsters, BMW introduced the more powerful 319/1 variant with similar styling, selling 178.The 328 Roadster followed in 1936, becoming one of the fastest cars on the road (with a top speed of 155 km/h).Only 464 units were built until the Second World War necessitated an end of production. ”

To read more of this entry and his view on a BMW Z4 we will not see on this side of the pond visit him at Executive Road Warrior.