BMW Z4 E85/E86

The E85/E86 is the BMW Z4 generation our specification records cover for US model years 2003–2008. Across that run EPA certified 41 versions of it for sale in America, under 7 trim names. It was sold as a roadster and coupe.

Dimensions are the figures the panel above does not carry. The E85/E86 measures 161.0 in · 4,089 mm to 161.8 in · 4,110 mm long, sits on a wheelbase of 98.0 in · 2,489 mm and weighs 3,020 lb · 1,370 kg to 3,197 lb · 1,450 kg. Length and wheelbase come from Transport Canada, which measures every vehicle sold in North America; curb weight from the same source.

Every version we hold under this code is rear-wheel drive. That matters on the used market more than it looks: which axles are driven changes the weight, the service list and the price, and the badge does not always say which you are looking at.

This archive holds 5 original US brochures covering the E85/E86, with the text of each one searchable. They are the source of the figures no government record collects — torque, acceleration and the equipment lists — and they are what BMW told American buyers at the time rather than what is said about the car now.

Gaps are left as gaps. We do not hold curb weight for 28 of the 41 and horsepower for 18, because Transport Canada does not publish a weight for every model and EPA began recording certified output usefully only in the late 1990s. A dash on this site means the figure is not in a source we can name, never that it is roughly the same as the row above.