Recently, our good friend Joe Achilles announced he’d be trading in his BMW M3 Competition for an M3 Competition xDrive. However, the xDrive model won’t be coming for a couple of months and he had to trade his current M3 in right now, so he was ostensibly without a daily driver. Thankfully for Achilles, he’s chummy with his BMW dealer, who gave him a daily driver to use temporarily while he waits for his xDrive. And it’s a doozy. Until his BMW M3 xDrive comes in, Achilles will be driving this — a BMW Z4 M40i tuned by AC Schnitzer.
It’s called the BMW Z4 M40i ACS4 and it’s a quite comprehensively tuned version of the standard Z4 M40i. What makes it different from the standard Z4 M40i? It has a new coilover suspension, engine tune, AC Schnitzer exhaust, and a body kit. So it’s quite a bit spicier than the standard car, in both looks and the way it drives.
I personally think this is very cool for Achilles to have, as I’m a bigger fan of the Z4 M40i than most enthusiasts. It might look a bit insectoid but it’s a really fun car to drive in a very unique way. No, it’s not as purely fun to drive as a Porsche Boxster but it’s faster and has a character all of its own. With its big stonking B58 engine under the hood, a surprisingly low curb weight, rear-wheel drive, and drop-top driving experience, the Z4 M40i is like a muscle car in a roadster’s body.
So what’s the BMW Z4 M40i ACS4 like to drive? It certainly sounds good, with a deeper growl than the stock car and some very fun turbo whooshes. Achilles hasn’t had a ton of time with the car but we’re sure he’s going to have more videos on it over the next couple of months and we’re excited to see them.