BMW moves the Z2 roadster into production

A short while back, BMW began releasing some teaser photos of a small roadster called the Z2. At the time, production seemed like a long shot at best and many people just wrote the lightweight roadster off as a concept and nothing more. Now, BMW has officially announced that the Z2 will enter production and will be more than able to compete with the vehicles in its class.

One look at the body of the Z2 and it apparent that many of the same design principals have carried over from it's slightly larger counterpart, the Z4. Many of the same components will also be shared between the Z2 and Z4, which will make the transition into full scale production much more efficient.

Power for the Z2 will come from a few different engines, with the lowest trim using a 150 horsepower naturally aspirated inline-4. The M-Spec version of the Z2 will feature a much more satisfying 300 horsepower turbocharged inline-4, which should be more than adequate to keep with the Miata MX-5. There will also be a handful of other packages available.

Two different transmission options will be available for the Z2, with the first being a good-old-fashioned manual gearbox. The second, which comes as no surprise, will be a dual-clutch automatic gearbox that will be similar to the ones made by VW and Audi.

BMW is planning on keeping the price in the sub $30,000 range, which should be no problem at all. The Z2 is expected to hit the dealerships sometime in 2012.