BMW has unveiled a sportier version of the Z4 called the sDrive35is (Sounds like the name of some appliance), as well as an M Sport package for the stock Z4. They will make their first live appearances at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.
The sDrive35is (Which I will refer to from here as the 35is) is based on the Z4 35i. It uses the same twin-turbocharged 3.0L straight six, but with a few changes. There’s a higher-flow intake and the turbos spool up to higher boost pressures. The result is that the car now produces 335hp and 332lb-ft of torque. Oh, and for brief bursts, the 35is’ turbos will spin to even higher boost pressures, resulting in up to 369 torques.
The claimed 0-60 time is 4.7 seconds. Other changes include revised electric power steering programming, a dual-clutch gearbox as standard, and brake energy regeneration.
Now then, the M Sport package. Most of the contents of this package come standard with the 35is, so if you only want to know about that, I suggest you still keep reading.
The changes here improve two areas: aerodynamics and suspension. Aerodynamically, the car gets a new set of bumpers, which I believe are different from the 35is, though the press release claims the 35is wears M Sport bumpers. . As for the suspension, the car gets adaptive M suspension, which drops the ride height by about 0.4-inches, as well as electronically controlled shock absorbers, which BMW call Dynamic Damping Control.
