BMW Z4 M: which version to buy

The catalogue lists one generation of the BMW Z4 M and two versions, both named 3.3 MT. They share the same 343 hp, the same 365 Nm, the same 5 s 0–100 figure, and the same 250 km/h top speed. The choice is not about more power. It is about 80 kg of kerb weight, 1.3 L/100 km of mixed consumption, 95 versus 98 fuel, and payload. Prices and “for sale” listings are not in this dataset.

The catalogue lists one generation of the BMW Z4 M and two versions, both named 3.3 MT. They share the same 343 hp, the same 365 Nm, the same 5 s 0–100 figure, and the same 250 km/h top speed. The choice is not about more power. It is about 80 kg of kerb weight, 1.3 L/100 km of mixed consumption, 95 versus 98 fuel, and payload. Prices and “for sale” listings are not in this dataset.

BMW Z4 M specs by version (what actually differs)

Both 3.3 MT cars are Gasoline, Inline 6, 4 valves per cylinder, boost No, Front, longitudinal, Distributed injection (multi-point), compression 11.5, bore × stroke 91 × 87, Manual 6, RWD, Coupe. CO2 is not measured on both.

VersionPeriodhp / kW @ rpmNm @ rpmDisplacementFuelMixed L/100 kmKerb / gross kg
3.3 MT (343 hp, 95)2006-04-01 – 2008-08-31343 / 252 @ 7900365 @ 490032469512.11495 / 1730
3.3 MT (343 hp, 98)2006-01-01 – 2008-08-31343 / 252 @ 7900365 @ 490032469813.41415 / 1705

City and highway consumption are identical: 18.2 and 8.6 L/100 km. Wheels are 225/45 R18 and 255/40 R18 on both. Ground clearance is 123 mm. Tank is 55 L. Euro 5 on both. Front brakes Ventilated disc, rear Disc. Suspension Independent, spring front and rear.

There is no BMW Z4 M40i, no automatic, no second generation, and no roadster in this file. If the search is “Z4 M coupe specs 2006–2008”, these two 3.3 MT rows are the whole list.

BMW Z4 M horsepower, engine, and power per litre

The engine block is the same on paper: 3246 cm³, 343 hp at 7900 rpm, 365 Nm at 4900 rpm, 6 Inline cylinders, boost No.

Power per litre is 343 / 3.246 ≈ 105.7 hp per litre on both 3.3 MT versions. Torque per litre is 365 / 3.246 ≈ 112.4 Nm per litre. Kilowatts are 252 on both. Specific output does not pick a winner.

What does pick a winner is mass around that engine. The 3.3 MT that starts on 2006-01-01 and uses 98 fuel is 1415 kg kerb. The 3.3 MT that starts on 2006-04-01 and uses 95 fuel is 1495 kg kerb. Same 343 hp, 80 kg more (1495 − 1415).

Weight per horsepower:

That is 0.23 kg/hp more on the heavier car, or about 5.6% more mass per horsepower (4.36 / 4.13 − 1). Power-to-weight the other way:

The lighter 3.3 MT carries about 5.7% more horsepower per kilogram. The 0–100 time is still 5 s for both, so the catalogue does not claim a quicker sprint — only a better mass-to-power ratio on the 1415 kg car.

Gross weight follows the same direction but by less: 1705 kg versus 1730 kg (25 kg). Payload (gross minus kerb) is not the same:

The lighter kerb car has 55 kg more payload (290 − 235). If the question is “which 3.3 MT to buy for carrying people and luggage inside the rated gross,” the 1415 / 1705 row has the larger allowance. If the question is “which one is heavier at the kerb,” the 1495 / 1730 row is heavier.

BMW Z4 M 0–100, top speed, and mpg (L/100 km)

Performance numbers that are measured:

Mixed consumption is not the same:

The heavier car uses 1.3 L/100 km less on the mixed cycle (13.4 − 12.1), about 9.7% less mixed fuel (1.3 / 13.4). City and highway do not show that gap. Anyone buying on “mpg” from mixed-cycle figures only is looking at a difference that does not appear in the city or highway columns.

Tank 55 L on both. Mixed-cycle range from tank ÷ mixed × 100:

About 45 km more mixed-cycle range on the 12.1 L/100 km car. Highway range from 55 / 8.6 × 100 ≈ 640 km is the same arithmetic for both, because highway consumption is the same. City range from 55 / 18.2 × 100 ≈ 302 km is also the same for both.

CO2 is not measured for either 3.3 MT. Do not treat a missing CO2 figure as “zero emissions” or as “Euro 5 implies a number we did not list.” Euro 5 is listed; grams of CO2 are not.

There is no 0–60 time in the data. Searches for “BMW Z4 M 0–60” cannot be answered from this file. The measured sprint is 5 s to 100 km/h.

Fuel grade is a real fork: 95 on the 1495 kg 3.3 MT, 98 on the 1415 kg 3.3 MT. Same 343 hp, same 365 Nm, different pump. If 98 is hard to find or costs more in your market, that is an operating cost the catalogue cannot price (prices are not in the data) but can flag as a spec difference.

BMW Z4 M weight, dimensions, wheels, tank

Ground clearance 123 mm on both 3.3 MT versions. Wheel sizes 225/45 R18 and 255/40 R18 on both. Tank 55 L on both. Body type Coupe on the only generation.

What this file does not measure: overall length, width, height, wheelbase, boot volume. “BMW Z4 M dimensions” in the sense of millimetres of length/width/height is not measured. The measured size-related figures are clearance, wheels, kerb, gross, and tank.

Kerb-to-gross headroom:

Share of kerb versus gross:

The heavier 3.3 MT is closer to its gross limit when empty. The lighter 3.3 MT leaves a larger fraction of the 1705 kg rating for load.

Clearance 123 mm is low for both. There is no second generation here with a different figure, so buying “a later Z4 M” inside this catalogue does not buy more ground clearance.

Generations: one generation, two 3.3 MT rows

1 generation, Coupe, 2 versions, production window 2006-01-01 to 2008-08-31.

There is no restyling listed as a separate generation. There is no 11th generation. There is no 2004 Z4 M in this dataset. Year-by-year “2006 / 2007 / 2008 BMW Z4 M specs” searches all land on this same generation.

Calendar coverage of the two 3.3 MT names is not identical:

If the car must be a January–March 2006 build, only the 98-fuel 3.3 MT is in production in those months. From 2006-04-01 both names exist until 2008-08-31.

Nothing in the numbers says the later-starting 3.3 MT gained horsepower, torque, gears, or drive. Gearbox stays Manual 6. Drive stays RWD. Boost stays No. Cylinders stay 6 Inline. Displacement stays 3246.

What changed between the two rows is not a new generation. It is kerb 1415 vs 1495, gross 1705 vs 1730, mixed 13.4 vs 12.1, fuel 98 vs 95, and the April 2006 start on the heavier car.

Which BMW Z4 M 3.3 MT to choose

There is no extra-money-for-more-hp story in this file: both 3.3 MT versions are 343 hp and 252 kW. “What the extra money buys” cannot be priced here. What the two rows buy, in arithmetic:

Choose the 3.3 MT (343 hp, 98) if the priority is mass and payload. Kerb 1415 kg is 80 kg below the other 3.3 MT. Weight per hp is ≈ 4.13 kg/hp versus ≈ 4.36. Payload is 290 kg versus 235. It is also the only 3.3 MT listed from 2006-01-01. Trade-offs: fuel 98, mixed 13.4 L/100 km, mixed-cycle range from a 55 L tank ≈ 410 km. 0–100 is still 5 s; top speed still 250.

Choose the 3.3 MT (343 hp, 95) if the priority is mixed-cycle consumption and 95 fuel. Mixed 12.1 versus 13.4 is 1.3 L/100 km less. Mixed-cycle range ≈ 455 km versus ≈ 410. Fuel 95 instead of 98. Trade-offs: kerb 1495 kg (80 kg more), payload 235 kg (55 kg less), production from 2006-04-01 not from January. City 18.2 and highway 8.6 do not change, so this “economy” win is mixed-cycle only.

Do not choose between them on horsepower, 0–100, gearbox, or drive. Those columns are identical: 343 hp, 5 s, Manual 6, RWD. Do not choose on wheels, clearance, tank, Euro class, or brake type labels: those match. Do not choose on CO2: not measured. Do not choose a manual versus automatic: there is no Automatic in this model’s data. Do not choose an M40i: it is not a version here.

Reliability and problems are not measured in this dataset. A buying article that invented fault lists would be fiction. The measured split is weight, mixed consumption, fuel grade, payload, and start date.

Short rule: same 3.3 MT name, same 343 hp. The 1415 kg / 98 / 13.4 mixed car is the light, high-payload, full-window car. The 1495 kg / 95 / 12.1 mixed car is the heavier, 95-fuel, lower-mixed-use car from April 2006. That is the whole catalogue choice.