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On Monday we went to Hartge and met them at 8 o’clock in the morning. For some reason I did not have a problem waking up that morning. We were greeted outside Hartge and there was the silver Z4 was parked with Hartge 19 inch wheels and a very small and discreet 5,0 logo on the trunk. Also the Hartge front spoiler, rear exhaust as on the H50 (M5-powered M3) and also Hartge logos instead of the BMW roundel. We got shown around the facilities and saw the Hartge Mini as well as the new 22 inch wheels for the BMW X5. Hartges tuning program for the Mini which gives in fact well over 200 HP. Also we had a look at the V8 M-Roadster which we tried on our M-Trip in 2001. After the tour of the facilities it was time to pick up the newly washed Z4 5,0. It had a standard 2003 M5 engine and the base was a 2,5 liter US-spec automatic (!) Z4. That is why it had both mph and km/h units on the speedo and a revlimiter that was graded to 7000 rpms. So because it had an M5 engine you could go to the revlimiter all out. The M5 conversion was easier than the H50 conversion. On the H50 conversion you had to dissassemble the whole fron of the car in order to install the engine. Nothing in the engine compartement had to be removed as opposed to the H50 where the washer fluid container had to be removed to the trunk. On the Z4 it was possible to drop it right in. Alot of work was needed in order to get the exhaust to fit in the rear.
Here is the registrationpapers for the Z4 5,0 with a limited top speed of 300 km/h.
We make your BMW nicer, stronger and faster. I can agree on all of those three... The Z4 5,0 had brakes of 380 mm in diameter which did a good job stopping this light car. It has 328 mm rearbrakes. The Z4 with the 3,0 liter engine only weights 1365 kg which is only three quarters of the weight of an M5. The official performance times are as follows: 0-100
km/h: 4,6 s 0-400 m: 12,7 s 0-1000 m: 22,5 s Top speed limited to 300 km/h.
Here
we have Hartges new wheels, among others 22' wheels for the X5. |
I had big difficulties in leaving the key back to Hartge. We made a usual stop at a not so very German restaurant. We had a fast car so we should have that type of food too. Notice the "new" interiour design of the instrument cluster. Something that I do not understand since you can't see the speedometer as a passenger at all. Bad for filming from the passenger seat and maybe good for the wife or girlfriend so they can't complain at the speed!
Here is the Hartge Mini with Hartge exhaust. Perfect beginners car! So after some pictures of the Z4 it was time to hit the road. We went slowly through the small city centre and then out on the Autobahn with Johans E46 M3 tuned by Kelleners with special camshafts, exhaust and ECU which has around 370 HP at the engine. Also as mentioned above lightened (loud!). We had the roof, windows and the diffuser down on the Z4 5,0. Then the race was on in different speed intervals. At all speeds the Z4 5,0 pulled away. We were two persons in the Z4 and the M3 E46 was lightened with around 150 kg. The torque of the M5 was an enourmous experience in the Z4 5,0. It seemed that it pulled as hard on all gears no matter what speed of gear. You could be cruising in 50 km/h on sixth gear and still just floor it and attain illegal speeds in no time. It felt like it didn’t matter what gear you had.
Extremely low profile on the tyres. 9,5*19' offset 22 265/30 ZR19 Coninental rear and 8*19' offset 46 235/35 ZR19 Conintental front.
Here we make a short stop because the navigations is a bit confused. Naturally we didn't have a map with us... Notice how very discreet the 5,0 emblem is on the trunk. The V8-rumble is however not discreet. The fastest we drove was a bit over 280 km/h due to traffic (and impaired hearing since the top was down). On the M3 we had 280 km/h and the Z4 5,0 still pulled away at those speeds, with the roof down! I saw 260 km/h when finishing 5th gear then put in 6th gear and the car still pulled as if it was 5th gear. Impressive! We also tried the 380 mm massive front brakes and for the light car it they were very efficient. ABS started to work at around 220 km/h braking with full force which is nice to have with this kind of power. We took a short stop where we let Johan test the car and also had an opportunity to race a Porsche Boxster (not the S) that really was in for a surprise...
We used up 2 complete tanks in 7 hours. Oops. We headed for the beutiful Mosel-region of Germany where we had some very nice roads. We took alot of clips for the video there. The Hartge Z4 5,0 is a very easy car to drive with no drama at all unless you push it. The Z4 has in fact better roadholding (according to tests performed on the Nürburgring and Hockenheim wthat the German car magazine Sport Auto) than the Porsche Boxster S so it is a good base to start from. But of course we had to test it witout DSC that required you to push the DSC for more than three seconds. If you only push it shortly (as on older DSC equipped cars) you will only deactivate the DTC (Dynamic Traction Control). DTC wil allow greater slip angles on the rear wheels up to 50 mph, like an extra safetynet. But we don't want that want we? I noticed the Hartge Z4 5,0 bit quite fast on the limit forcing the driver to be alert when he is up for some sideways driving.
I think the SL500 got most surprised but the other BMW Z4 also seemed very confused by the V8-sound emerging from the Z4... On the way back to Hartge i had the opportunity to race an E34 M5 shortly and a Mercedes SL500 (R230) which was very easy. too bad we didn't have the chance to race an SL55 AMG... We have to go back to Germany for some more Autobahn-driving!
8-piston calipers with 380 mm front brakes does only brake good they look good. It takes Hartge approximatly 7 weeks to complete the conversion after you delivered your BMW Z4 to Hartge. Price is €97 917,24 including a BMW Z4 2,5 witout any optional equipment. €113 544,83 with every option including Hartge bicolour leather interiour. To summarize the Hartge Z4 5,0 is like no BMW ever built. AC-Schnitzer made a Z3 V8 as well as Hartge but they aren't comparable in either roadholding, looks nor power. It's more butal than a Z8 but smaller. Feels like something between an M5 and a superbike. A fun bonus is that the majority of people will think it's a slow Z4 since we do not have an M-version yet. Just the very small and discreet "5,0" emblem will give the story away. Or the V8 rumble of course... To see a test drive of the Hartge H50 which is the M3 E46 with an M5 engine go here and a suitable DivX player here so you can watch the movie. We are working on the video from Nürburgring with Sabine in the Ringtaxi filmed from Brünnchen and Adenauer Forst. Also stay tuned for more reports. It may be come more films with the Z4 5,0 around the Autobahns in the western borders of Germany. Maybe an upcoming visit in a beautiful town of Pfaffenhausen. R. Turbo R. Video big version: 40 MB here Small verion here: here Page 1 2 Go to-> The visit at Hartge page 1
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