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Article: BMW fine-tunes parts sharing for Z4.(Suppliers)(new roadster shares parts with BMW's 3 series)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Automotive News
- Article date:
- December 16, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Edmund Chew Automotive News Europe
Although the Z4 was designed from the beginning as a standalone model, BMW's new roadster shares about 30 percent of its parts with the 3 series.
For the Z4, BMW carried over the engines, cooling system, rear-axle differential and some small interior parts from the 3 series. The Z4 also uses some minor components from the old Z3 roadster. BMW modified the Z4's shock absorbers, springs and air conditioning from 3-series systems. But other Z4 parts, such as the fuel tank, are new designs.
BMW took 30 months to develop the Z4 from the end of the concept phase to the start of production. BMW will build the ...