We rather like the BMW Z4 Handschalter. Its name may sound like the German for something a bit dirty, but the long overdue arrival of a manual gearbox paired with the current Z4’s turbo straight-six has totally transformed the roadster for the better.
That said, we were always a little puzzled by BMW’s decision to only offer it in a single spec of Frozen Deep Green with Cognac leather interior. Admittedly, we’re suckers for the highly Instagram-friendly combo of green over tan, and it certainly works for the kind of nostalgia-hungry audience BMW is chasing with the Handschalter, but would it really have been that difficult to paint it any other colours?
BMW Z4 Handschalter – rear
Well, no, as it turns out, because BMW has just significantly expanded the range of colours and interior trims available for the car. Granted, even a single other option would have been a 100 per cent expansion, but it now comes in a heady range of nine different colours.
A few of these are the white, silver, grey and black that you’d expect, but there are some proper colours available too. Long-standing Z4 colours Portimao Blue and San Francisco Red are available, and you can also get metallic Sanremo Green if the original spec’s matte paint is a bit much for you.
BMW Z4 Handschalter in Portimao Blue
Our favourite of the new paints, however, might be Thundernight. That’s partly because it sounds like it’s been named after an action-packed Saturday night TV show from the ’80s, and partly because it’s BMW’s term for purple, and purple cars are cool.
There’s a similarly expanded range of colours for the interior leather – black if you want to play things safe, Magma Red if you want whatever you’re wearing to clash with your seats as you cruise around with the roof down, and Ivory White for if you want to have to get your interior valeted three times a week.
BMW Z4 Handschalter with Magma Red interior
The best bit, though, is that all the new paints and trims are no-cost options. We recommend firing up BMW’s configurator and killing five minutes – you’ve got nothing better to do, right?
