How four months in the BMW Z4 Handschalter revealed the Toyota Supra's weakness

Before it arrived on the evo fleet, my gut feeling was that the Z4 M40i would be a nice way to get around: smooth six-cylinder engine, manual gearbox, well-equipped cabin, enjoyable with the roof down when the weather was favourable – that sort of thing. A car you’d enjoy using every day, but perhaps not one you’d be looking for excuses to drive in between those journeys you already had to make. I’m pleased to say I was wrong.

The Z4 had been around just a handful of days before I found myself wanting to drive it simply to drive it, to experience more of what it was like. And that craving never went away. The weekend before the Z4 returned to BMW, I kept a day clear simply to head out and string together as many of my favourite local roads as possible. And a few not-so-local ones for good measure. It had clearly got me under its spell.

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Which was all the more unexpected because, when I ran the Z4 M40i’s cousin, a 3-litre Toyota GR Supra, back in 2020, it didn’t cast the same magic. Gearbox aside (our Supra was an auto), the big difference was the chassis tuning of the Z4, which you may recall had been further refined for this Handschalter version. Where the Supra – and in particular its rear axle – could quickly feel like it was struggling over a lumpy stretch of tarmac, the Z4 inspired far more confidence. It felt like its rear tyres had a much better connection with the road, and this was an impression backed up by the impressive amount of traction and grip on offer.

That’s not to say the Handschalter had the perfect sports car chassis: it didn’t feel as alert as, say, a Boxster’s, and when really pressing on, the ability to place the car with absolute accuracy could sometimes seem a touch blurry, so you’d temper your speed or rate of acceleration when exact positioning became critical – during an overtake on a narrow road, for example. But there were rewards to be had when a great sequence of corners appeared in the windscreen, not least a very satisfying sensation of both ends of the car playing their part in getting you through them.

And, my goodness, was it a quick car between the corners. Its 335bhp headline figure undersells it considerably. In-gear acceleration equalled the vigour exhibited by the 454bhp G87 M2 – also a manual – that I ran last year, and you don’t have to look too hard to find independently recorded figures that confirm the two models are closely matched in this regard. How so? The roadster’s 150kg lighter kerb weight (1550kg) certainly helped. Not so much in terms of power-to-weight, where it still lagged behind by 51bhp per ton, but on torque-to-weight, where the pair were neck-and-neck, the Z4’s 242lb ft per ton all but matching the M2’s 243. Suffice to say, I never wished the Z4 was more potent than it already was.

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And that manual shift? It may not have had the crisp action of the very best, but slotting home quick, accurate changes was never a problem, even across the gate. It also made the turbocharged six all the more rewarding, as you were far more inclined to use more of its range more often, from the copious low-down torque all the way to its near-7000rpm red line. There was auto rev matching too, although this seemed curiously inconsistent: sometimes seamless, other times leaving you lurching, especially in the lower half the rev range. I eventually took to switching it off and providing the blips myself. No bad thing, as it only added to the involvement of having a manual.

A more significant demerit was that, despite the Z4’s rigid platform, the soft-top would squeak away to itself when you were on the move with it in its raised position. Applying some rubber-care solution to the seals may have cured this, though. And then there was the ride quality, which was absolutely fine across smooth asphalt, but could feel quite jarring over urban bumps or when cruising on rougher roads, even in Comfort mode. It’s a sensation no doubt amplified by how close the occupants sit to the rear wheels, and although I often forgot about it, passengers were usually quick to bring it back to my attention.

It wasn’t perfect, then, the Z4 M40i Handschalter, but it far exceeded my expectations. When the news landed that our long-termer would be departing earlier than expected to make space for another BMW to join our fleet, I was genuinely gutted. I’m sure there were many more great drives I could have had in it.

This story was first featured in evo issue 334.

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