Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe custom Z4 is notable because it’s in my neck of the woods, and I’ve even actually seen it on the road. Let’s see if it’s priced to move a little closer to your hood.
It’s a common mantra in the automotive world that it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than the other way around. Hell, we even offered up some collective options for doing so!
Not on that list, but an easy contender for its inclusion, is yesterday’s 1988 Mazda RX7 convertible. More grand tourer than sports car, the droptop RX7 still proved lust-worthy at its $6,300 price and low mileage, which earned the car a respectable 71-percent Nice Price victory. See? The tortoise really can win the race.
The second generation RX7’s evolution followed a path from coupe to convertible. And as one might expect, it lost some of its dynamic nature along the way. There’s just no way to make an open topped car as structurally rigid as its closed siblings without the addition of lots of structural bracing, all of which of course, piles on the pounds.
In stark contrast, BMW backed into the coupe version of the E86 Z4, having initially engineered the convertible, and then once that was baked, building a more hard core metal roofed edition. The result was the Z4 Coupé and that offered up over 50% greater torsional stiffness than the open topped car, with a weight savings of abut one-hundred pounds to boot.
Okay, so you’re that much lighter, that means it’s okay if you can add a few pounds here and there. You still shouldn’t need to worry too much about crimping performance. What if in fact, you used those available extra pounds to add something that actually kicked performance up a notch or two?
That’s just what the builder of this 2006 BMW Z4 M Coupé has done. Under the car’s long sweep of bonnet lives the mighty S54 DOHC inline six, famed practitioner of song and dance. That mill give it up to the tune of 338 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque while in factory guise. Here it’s being abetted by an ESS Tuning engineered supercharger set up, so those numbers are just a starting point.
The forced induction add-on includes a new intake with integrated POV, a Vortech turbine style blower which nestles cozily beneath, and, most importantly, a belt intended to make the whole thing work. How much more power does the ESS kit add? In this car’s case that’s a bit of a mystery, however ESS claims a 50-60% bump so you do the math. Yeah, I know, I didn’t warn you there would be math.
These cars are really finicky when it comes to these kinds of modifications so while the seller says no test drives without an agreed upon price, I say, let me take it through the rev-band before I make any decisions egarding whether to buy.
I’m leaning toward that hypothetical purchase already just based on the car’s bad-ass looks. It’s finished in Matte Pearl White with a gloss black double bubble roof and Himalayan-high serving tray wing out in the back.
If you open the hatch in your garage without checking that wing you’re gonna have a real bad time, it’s just that tall. Speaking of garages, that’s where the seller says this 90K car has spent almost all its off-duty time. That explains the clean paint and excellent interior. Less easily explained is the old school nav device apparently wired into the dash.
You probably wouldn’t even be able to hear Lady Garmin give directions if you crank up the stereo as it trades some of the 10 cubic feet of trunk space for a big-ass amp and sub. My first duty as a new owner would be to rip out that cruise night cacophony maker duo. I’d also have to consider whether or not to keep the Mr. Potatohead angry eyes headlamp brows. Nope, not a fan.
On the plus side, the car rocks some good looking SSR-brand wheels, staggered (Hmm…) and covering BMW Competition Package rotors (Mmm...). Wrapped around those are Hankook rubber bands. Coilovers keep the car up at all four corners, while a six-speed manual manages transmission duty.
In addition to the wing, this E86’s ass gets further adornment by way of an under-bumper diffuser. That envelopes the quad tail pipes, and those are connected to an aftermarket exhaust.
All that work having been done, the car is said to have just passed its smog test. That’s an admirable achievement. Equally admirable is the price. Or at least, that’s what we’re here to find out. The asking is $27,999, a not insubstantial sum.
What you need to decide is whether that’s too substantial for a car with so much aftermarket—albeit tastefully added—embelishment. What do you think, could this M Coupé claim that $27,999? Or, does that price make buying this be-winged Bimmer a bird brained idea?
You decide!
City of Angels, CA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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