BMW Z4: Design, Development and Production--How BMW Creates the Ultimate Driving Machines - Hardcover

Lightfoot, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0975498401 ISBN 13: 9780975498408

Publisher: Gearbooks Llc, 2004

Synopsis

BMW Z4: Design, Development and Production is the story of the creation of the Z4 from the first concept in the summer of 1998 until the delivery of customer cars in October 2002. David Lightfoot had exclusive access to the designers, engineers, and production personnel involved in the Z4, and provides an exciting behind-the-scenes look into the process. Never before has the story been told of how BMW brings together creative people and world renowned technical resources to deliver dream machines to its devoted clientele.

About this title

About the Author

David Lightfoot is a BMW enthusiast of the first order. He writes for Roundel, the publication of the BMW Car Club of America, on topics ranging from BMW history to future products and development. A particular interest is high performance driving; he has been an instructor with his local BMW Club for more than 20 years. The irony of his driving style and his last name have been brought to his attention many times. He is a lifelong resident of Seattle, Washington. This is his first book.

From the Back Cover

"My honest congratulations on your Z4 book. It describes perfectly the way the car progressed from the first sketches through the heat of South Africa and the cold of North Finland to garages of, as we are keen to anticipate, proud customers all over the world."
--Martin Kolk, Project Z4 General Manager of Processes and Communications, BMW AG
"Your book was a fascinating insight into the complex process to design, engineer and build a modern sports car. It also generated a connection between the details of that story and the emotional response that says, "I have to have one of these!"
--Rob Mitchell, Manager, Corporate Communications, BMW of North America, LLC
"Our team is very proud to have been involved in the design of the BMW Z4. I'm excited that David Lightfoot has written this book about the design, development and production process at BMW that gave birth to this fabulous car." --Adrian van Hooydonk, President, BMW Group DesignworksUSA
The Z4 is the most exciting new BMW in years: a classic roadster in its proportions but anything but classic in the innovative shape of its exterior. It is truly the first roadster of the 21st century. And beneath that exciting skin is state-of-the-art BMW technology.
BMW Z4: Design, Development and Production is the story of the creation of the Z4 from the first concept in the summer of 1998 until the delivery of customer cars in October 2002. The author was given exclusive access to the designers, engineers and production personnel involved in the Z4 in order to provide a behind the scenes look into the creative process.
But this book is more. BMW is the world's hottest car company. This book provides the first insight into how BMW creates the Ultimate Driving Machine . Never before has the story been told of how BMW brings together creative people and world renowned technical resources to deliver dream machines to its devoted clientele.
Whether you own a Z4, wished you owned a Z4 or are just interested in how BMW creates its wonderful machines, BMW Z4: Design, Development and Production provides the inside story. Enjoy the ride.

From the Inside Flap

BMW has a long and proud tradition of building roadsters for discerning enthusiasts. If a BMW is the Ultimate Driving Machine , then what is a BMW roadster? Simple. A BMW roadster is the joy of driving in its purest form.BMW's roadster tradition stretches back to 1930 with the DA3 Wartburg, continues with the 315/1 and 319/1 of the mid-1930s and finds its pre-war apogee in the legendary 328.In the post-war period the BMW roadster tradition was revived with the beautiful 507 of the mid-1950s. There would then be a hiatus of almost 30 years until the revolutionary Z1 appeared in 1988. In 1995, the Z3 would bring the magic of BMW roadsters to a larger audience for the first time. The late 1990s saw the production of another BMW roadster legend: the Z8.The Z4 is the successor to the Z3 but it is also BMW's attempt to bring the driving dynamics of the $130,000 Z8 to a broader group of customers. To its credit, BMW has succeeded. Through clever engineering, the Z4 comes very close to replicating the performance of the Z8 at one-third the price. The exciting exterior styling, with positive and negative surfaces and adventurous use of cutlines, seems almost a bonus.BMW Z4: Design, Development and Production is the story of the creation of this extraordinary car. The tale begins with the first concepts in the summer of 1998 and concludes with the delivery of the first customer cars in October 2002.Along the way we learn how the cutting edge technology was developed and why. We hear from both the engineers and designers how they worked together, fought together and resolved their conflicts to reach the optimum solutions. The solutions that are present on every new Z4 sold. And we learn how BMW's exacting quality standards are maintained for every BMW that comes out of the Spartanburg, South Carolina factory; the sole source for the Z4 worldwide.David Lightfoot is a BMW enthusiast of the first order. He writes for Roundel, the publication of the BMW Car Club of America, on topics ranging from BMW history to future products and development. A particular interest is high performance driving; he has been an instructor with his local BMW Club for over 20 years. The irony of his driving style and his last name have been brought to his attention many times. He is a lifelong resident of Seattle, Washington, USA. This is his first book.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

This book is really three stories. The first is the tale of the design, development and production of the exciting BMW Z4 roadster. After the stunning success of the Z3, it was never in doubt that a successor would be built. But since the Z3 was introduced in 1995, the roadster market had become much more crowded and competitive. As far back as the middle of 1998, BMW was working on the concept that was to become the Z4. From the beginning, BMW's intention was to make the Z4 the best car in the affordable roadster class. This would be partially achieved by making the Z4 a technological tour de force with best-in-class performance. But to set it apart, the Z4 would be wrapped in a body like no car ever seen before. The story of the technology and styling, and how they were brought together, is here.

The second story is that of a great company and how it continues to turn out, year after year, some of the finest automobiles in the world; indeed "Ultimate Driving Machines ." BMW is often cited as the most admired car manufacturer in the world. This fiercely independent company from Munich, Germany has enjoyed great success by selling their idea of an automobile to the world. This process of creation, used to develop every BMW, is told her in the context of the development of the Z4. The process of creating a new "ultimate driving machine " is presented here for the first time.

The third story is one of human ingenuity, creativity and passion. Most books about a particular model of car focus on the hardware. And while the hardware of the Z4 is intriguing, perhaps even more interesting is the human aspect behind this extraordinary car. Certainly BMW has immense resources in terms of computing power, wind tunnels, test tracks, laboratories and modeling studios. But every idea originates in the mind of a human being. The computers, wind tunnels, test tracks, laboratories and modeling studios are mere tools to give form to ideas conceived by people. People who are passionate about creating the world's best driving machines.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gearbooks Llc
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0975498401
• ISBN 13: 9780975498408
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 140