All-new BMW Z4 Introduced at Detroit: New roadster from South Carolina

As many of the world's largest automobile manufacturers struggle to be all things to all people (or at least most things to most people) in these uncertain economic times, the self-proclaimed "world's most successful manufacturer of premium cars" continues doing what it does best: designing, building and marketing some of the world's most innovative and sophisticated performance cars.

That manufacturer is BMW and, as evidence of the Bavarians continuing to do what they do best, we give you the 2009 BMW Z4 roadster. Rather, BMW gave us the all new Z4 at the 2009 North American International Automobile Show, one of two new Bimmers unveiled at Detroit's Cobo Hall Sunday - the other being the Concept 7 Series ActiveHybrid.

Visually the new Z4's heritage is unmistakable, with classic BMW roadster long hood, short overhangs front and rear and a low seating position just ahead of the rear axle. Yet the new Z4's concave and convex lines are altogether more fully integrated than the Z4 Roadster and the Z4 Coupe it replaces, witness the single sculpted line carrying from the lower edge of the doors through the front fenders to the ducts alongside the radiator inlet.

Even bigger news: the Z4 is the first BMW roadster with a retractable hard top. The two piece aluminum lid opens and closes in 20 seconds at the proverbial touch of a button and a moveable partition preserves luggage space with the top stowed. With the hardtop "up" in coupe form, there is increased head and elbow room as well as heated side windows and rear window, fully 40 percent larger than in the current roadster.

The Z4 comes with a choice of two three liter, inline, six cylinder engines, with the Z4 sDrive 35i producing 300 horsepower, some 45 more than the sDrive 30i. Both Z4s come with a with a manual, six speed transmission as standard equipment with a six speed sport automatic featuring steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters available on the sDrive 30i and a seven speed, dual clutch sport automatic optional on the sDrive 35i. With the seven speed automatic, the sDrive 35i goes from 0-60 mph in 5 seconds flat, a tenth of second quicker than the manual version, while the sDrive 30i gets to 60 mph in 5.6sec with the manual, 6 seconds with the automatic.

BMW's Dynamic Drive Control is standard on both versions of the Z4, enabling drivers to vary the engine and suspension settings in three modes - smooth, standard and "super-sporty" - while erstwhile Robert Kubicas may opt for BMW's Adaptive M Suspension complete with electronic damper adjustment.

Having delivered nearly a quarter of its BMW Group’s worldwide sales in the United States last year - and having invested upwards of $4.2bn in its Spartanburg, S.C. plant - it stands to reason that executives in Detroit made no bones about the fact that the United States is of major strategic significance to BMW now and in the future. They also made it clear that, while Germany, Italy and Japan are key markets for the Z4, the roadster is intended mainly for the North American market; and that BMW's aim is to sell more of the new Z4s in North America than its predecessor. With the new Z4 taking its place among BMW's long line of premium performance offerings, and with MSRPs in the mid-$40k range (sDrive 30i) and low-$50k's (sDrive 35i), it would seem that goal is in reach.