BMW Z4 Handschalter (2024 - 2026) review – a true Porsche Boxster rival?

At the eleventh hour, after five years in production, BMW decided to put a six-speed manual in the six-cylinder Z4, creating the Z4 M40i Handschalter, or hand shift. Logically, a manual is regressive, fitting one to a long-established model especially so given car makers’ efforts to lower their corporate CO2 levels. Today’s automatic ’boxes deliver better economy and performance, and a DCT (dual clutch transmission) offers the same connection feel as a manual. Thing is though, the Z4 isn’t a logical, practical choice, and a manual might give it some much-needed driver engagement and appeal.

Until the launch of this car in 2024, you could only have the BMW Z4 with an eight-speed ZF auto and, to be honest, it seemed to fit the aspirations of the model and its customers. Why the change of heart? Probably not market pressure because the Z4 has been consistently the biggest seller in this roadster segment, finding a big market in Germany, the UK and the US. Perhaps the reason for the late change of heart is more prosaic.

> How my BMW Z4 'Handschalter' makes my front door feel old school

Basically, the work had already been done. The Z4 was built in collaboration with Toyota who got the Supra, the two marques avoiding direct sales conflict by dint of the BMW being available only as a convertible and the Toyota only as a coupe. However, underneath they share the same basic platform, suspension and drivetrains and are built at the same Magna Steyr factory in Graz, Austria, and early on Toyota employed ZF to fashion a six-speed manual to mate up with the BMW 3-litre straight-six. 

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So, for BMW the manual was pretty much off-the-shelf. They say the Z4 ’box uses ‘M-specific components for the gear set and shafts, along with a custom-made shift lever and linkage’, which is pretty close to Toyota’s description of the work that went into creating the Supra gearbox. Meanwhile, a look at the technical specs reveals the gear ratios and final drive of the Z4 and Supra are identical.

 There’s more to the Handschalter Pack than just three pedals and a gear lever, though. The model also gets a revised chassis with new, mixed size wheels – 19s at the front, 20s at the rear – stiffer front anti-roll bar mounts and revised tuning of the steering, rear dampers and adaptive M-differential. The distinct hue you see here is ‘Frozen Deep Green’, a unique colour for the model that is paired with ‘Cognac’ leather interior trim. Coincidentally, when Toyota launched the manual Supra it did so with a special edition with matt paint and Cognac leather…

> BMW M4 review – a brash, bruising and exciting Porsche 911 rival

The Z4 is a rather lumpy looking car though, somewhat unresolved. The still excellent BMW rotary controller for the iDrive remains though and the first and most vital use for this, which will have you pulled over at the side of the road within a few miles, is to seek out how to disable the intensely annoying and overly sensitive lane keep assist.

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Push the start button and the classy beat of the 335bhp single-turbo in-line ‘six sounds gorgeous and, perhaps as you’d anticipate with a single turbo rather than a pair of smaller lighter turbos, it takes a few revs to really get going and builds to an appealing crescendo. The manual saves 15kg over the auto ’box, yet despite that and a lower final drive, it’s a couple of tenths slower to 62mph. But that’s not the point. 

The lever is topped by the time-served, almost teardrop-shaped BMW knob, and the shift is fairly light but well-defined and usefully robust, not as elastic or knuckly as earlier BMW manuals tended to be. It’s paired with a reasonably weighty, easily modulated clutch, though some credit for ease of use needs to be given to the outstanding engine mapping of the straight-six. There’s automatic rev-matching too which you can switch off but it’s so subtle you simply assume that you’re acing every heel and toe downshift.

> BMW Z4 M40i Handschalter v Toyota Supra – manual sixes go head-to-head

The bespoke Handschalter chassis mods have created a Z4 that feels quite different and works off a surprisingly robust platform for a convertible. Pop the bonnet and you’ll see aluminium braces running from the strut tops to the slam panel and there must be plenty of hidden strengthening to compensate for the open cockpit because it quickly becomes obvious that the Z4 has remarkable structural integrity. There’s the odd faint trim twitter but hood down there’s a total absence of shimmy and shake (and very little wind buffeting), and building on this solidity, the handling of the Z4 feels well balanced and composed, even on some of the gnarliest roads West Yorkshire has to offer.

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It has an abundance of grip too, being shod with Michelin Pilot Super Sports, 265/35s at the front and massive 295/30s at the rear, so you can carry speed with confidence. The bit that’s missing is the steering feel. The fat-rimmed wheel feels a bit squidgy and lacks the detailed feedback that allows you to place it with precision, so while you can admire the handling and exploit the strong grip and traction out of tight corners, you don’t feel as involved and in charge as you should be. 

BMW claims 50:50 weight distribution and the Z4 does feel like the two ends share the load equally. There’s a lovely sense of poise and powering out of corners it hooks up and drives out with little fuss. Yet despite being a powerful, rear-drive sports car with direct throttle connection, you don’t feel encouraged to go looking for oversteer. 

The Z4 has never been so composed but, as with other models, there’s little feedback to tell you how hard you’re pushing. So, while the Handschalter is the most accomplished and engaging Z4 yet, in large part thanks to that slick, positive and easy shift, it’s still more of a cruiser than a scratcher.

Living with it

'The night time is the right time’ sang Nappy Brown, as did Roosevelt Sykes and Big Bill Broonzy before him. I’m reasonably certain that none of these American blues singers were referring to the best hours during which to drive a sports car with the top down during a British winter, but they might as well have been.

You see, while it’s perfectly possible, pleasant even, to drive our Z4 roofless in colder temperatures – heated steering wheel keeping your fingers toasty, heated seats doing the same for your posterior and torso, and the side glass and rear wind deflector fending off the worst of the chill air you’re cutting a path through – it’s hard not to imagine that those observing you travelling in this state might be thinking you’re a bit of a berk. Or worse.

Under the cover of darkness, however, there are no such concerns; most of the time you’re just another pair of headlights that become a brief passing blur. Yet you still get to enjoy all the enhanced sensations of driving without a roof: the fresh, unfiltered air, the unmuffled engine and exhaust notes, the open sky above you (hopefully filled with a sea of stars). Chances are the roads will be quieter, too.

And when you finally find yourself entering a busier area, you can flip the roof back up electrically in a mere 10 seconds, while travelling at speeds of up to 30mph. No time lost to the task whatsoever.

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Another advantage of top-down driving in the Z4 is that you get a break from the creaks and squeaks coming from its roof. This may be a particularly rigid convertible – there’s no shuddering rear-view mirror here – but still its raised soft-top chatters away where it meets the windscreen header rail and from somewhere behind you too, particularly at urban speeds when the suspension is being kept busy by patchwork asphalt. This is unfortunate, because were it not for this (and a little extra tyre roar) you could often forget you were in a roadster at all. If it were my car I’d be tempted to visit the creakiest areas with a pot of Vaseline, although I suspect the issue may be temperature related, so we’ll keep an eye – or rather an ear – on it when the warmer weather finally arrives.

And I know what you’re thinking: if BMW had made the Z4 a coupe, it wouldn’t be making these noises. Maybe… although the Toyota GR Supra I ran back in 2020 – a car that shares its platform with the Z4, of course – was plagued by the interior plastics aft of the seats relentlessly making their presence heard, rather like they too were in a roofless car, in fact.

A bit of admin to end on. I mentioned last month that green over tan is the only colour combo available for the Handschalter Z4. No sooner had the ink dried on those pages than BMW announced you can now also specify any of the eight paint colours offered on the auto, from Alpine White to ‘Thundernight’ purple, along with any of the five leather options. Frozen Deep Green paint remains exclusive to the manual car, however, and would remain my choice too, both for how good it looks and for the ‘IYKYK’ signal it sends to fellow petrolheads. – evo issue 332

Price, specs and rivals

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The Z4 Handschalter was no limited-run special. Before production came to a close at the beginning of 2026, it was available to order like any other Z4 at a £65,710 starting price. It waded into an enduringly strong segment of manual sports cars. The most obvious alternative was the much more expensive Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0, which also paired its silky six-cylinder engine with a six-speed manual ‘box. It should come as no surprise the Porsche is the more composed, engaging sports car, if not possessed of the same long legs and grand touring credentials as the Z4.

Look further afield and the Lotus Emira V6 manual will hove into view, offering less weight and more performance, albeit without the option of open-air motoring. Look even further affield (and even further up the pricing spectrum) and you’ll find the new Morgan Supersport, which uses a weaker 335bhp version of the B58 engine paired exclusively with the eight-speed ZF transmission. It however does bring an incredibly special design, bespoke fit and finish and according to Morgan, a still raw but more contemporary driving experience than the Plus Six it replaces. 

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