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BMW Z4

Liebenauer Hauptstraße 317, 8041 Graz, Austria

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The BMW Z4 launched in 2002 as the successor to the smaller Z3, positioning itself as BMW's dedicated two-seat roadster, built around the brand's traditional front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout to deliver the kind of sharp, balanced handling BMW's coupes and sedans were already known for. The current-generation Z4, launched in 2018, was co-developed with Toyota as part of a joint engineering partnership that also produced the revived Toyota Supra — the two cars share a platform and much of their underlying architecture despite each brand tuning its own version to a distinctly different character and styling. BMW made the notable decision to switch the Z4 from a folding hardtop, used on the previous generation, back to a traditional folding soft top, a choice the company said was made specifically to save weight and improve the car's overall balance and trunk space, prioritizing driving dynamics over the hardtop's added weather sealing and quietness. Built at Magna Steyr's contract manufacturing plant in Graz, Austria — a facility that's built vehicles for multiple luxury automakers over the decades — the Z4's continued position as BMW's dedicated roadster, now built alongside its closest engineering cousin in the reborn Supra, has kept it one of the more distinctive two-seat convertibles in the current market.

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