Other markets have begun to receive pricing for the new Z4. While these numbers do not directly translate to what the US prices will be they can be used as a fair judge of what to expect in terms of an increase.

New UK prices for the Z4 compared to the last generation.

Z4 sDrive30i£32,660 +14.8% over theZ4 2.5si SE £28,445

Z4 sDrive35i£37,060+13% over theZ4 3.0SI SE £32,800

Fair to say by these UK prices that the car has indeed moved up-market. Some people may do a direct pound to dollar to conversion to see what the car may cost but folks that is not how the world or money works. Those of us in the US have the advantage of a greater purchasing power in the dollar (still) and therefore we get more bang for the buck. For more on purchasing power you can check out the Economist but trust us when we say do not attempt the conversion it will not make sense or come close!

What we can do is extrapolate the UK price increases to the past US models and get a general sense of where the numbers may fall. We will split the difference and say there is 14% increase compared to the previous model.

Z4 Roadster 3.0i $36,700-> Z4 sDrive30i $41,838

Z4 Roadster 3.0si$42,700-> Z4 sDrive35i $48,678

These purely speculative numbers will now place this car in the same price point as offerings from Porsche (Boxster $45,800), Mercedes Benz (SLK $45,950) and Audi (TT $45,140). The new styling of the Z4 should be a hit with most even though it is not as subdued as the other offerings. BMW will still be on the lower priced end of these models with the Z4 30i so that may help lessen the shock of those expecting the new model ‘s prices to remain close to the current offerings.

What will be interesting to see is how packaging will work in the US; MB and Audi have packaged options into specific trim levels now and stand alone options are almost a thing of the past. Will BMW attempt the same in the Z4, having a technology group, advanced handling package or still offer options separately. We will see shortly.