Reference Auto

BMW India has finally rolled out a spruced up Z4 convertible in the country at Rs 68.9 lakh (ex-showroom) for the basic variant while the higher version has been priced a tad higher at Rs 69.9 lakh, which is a judicious move, while Audi hopes to come out of the third spot (in the luxury car market) with launch of the A4 Celebration Edition, targeting car operators in a bid to raise volumes. 

BMW’s 3.0 litre, straight 6, twin-turbocharged, petrol engine will propel the new Z4. Offering 310 PS and 400 Nm torque, the Z4 can definitely find its rightful place against competition such as the Mercedes’ SLK and Audi’s TT.

The Z4 does have the look of a modern sports car and will be available with BMW’s dealers in a few days.

The new Z4 doesn’t have much of sprucing up with the few ones being a slightly refurbished kidney grille along with a new headlamp cluster which have hexagonal day-time running lights.

These new headlamps come with corona shaped fibre optic day-time running lights and this jazzes up the Z4’s looks in a big way.

The new Z4 also comes in an attractive new colour – the Valencia Orange. But this colour is available only with the new ‘Design Pure Traction’ package that comes with more equipment such as a special metal weave finish for the interior trim.

The package also has the ‘BMW Individual’ anthracite headliner with leather and Alcantara seats. 

Bullish on the rollout, president of BMW India Philipp von Sahr said, “The new BMW Z4 offers the excitement of dynamism and aesthetics in a better style than ever before. The new Z4 is an attractive contemporary interpretation of the traditional roadster concept.”

Audi isn’t sitting idle either and has launched a new entry level A4 Celebration Edition to woo buyers during the festive period and also give its brand name a fillip. The Audi A4 is a limited edition car and would be available for a short duration.

The new Celebration Edition A4 will come only in white in the 2.0 litre turbocharged, diesel engine that offers 145 PS and 320 Nm torque. The Celebration Edition of the Audi A4 will come only in front wheel drive and not the Quattro system, which the car maker seems to have done away with.

So far as the interiors go, the A4 Celebration Edition of the Audi will not have the usual wooden trim on the dashboard and instead come with a simpler black trim. The front passenger seats would be manually adjustable (against electronically adjustable seats in higher variants) and this is a dampener for car buffs.

Another downside is that the Celebration Edition of the A4 doesn’t have a reversing camera and parking sensors for parking assistance.

The Celebration Edition is Rs 6 lakh cheaper than other variants and by cutting down on certain features, Audi is probably eyeing car operators rather than the discernible customer while BMW is sitting pretty with its snazzy Z4 (of course with judicious pricing).