NorthGeek

BMW has done gone brought sexy back.

There has been enough ink spilled about the questionable direction that former BMW design chief, Chris “I have an ego bigger than the J-Lo-sized rump of the 7 series sedan I designed” Bangle, took BMW’s styling over the past decade such that I will spare you from further whining about it. Suffice it to say, in an effort to break the cycle of look-alike Bimmers that were coming out of Bavaria in the late 1990’s – pretty as those cars were – Bangle ended up penning some cars whose looks were polarizing at best, and ass-ugly at worst. Now, with Bangle’s departure, BMW has returned to fine form with a new, more fluid design language, the first example of which is the new 2009 Z4. With the new Z’s introduction, BMW has proven two things, as far as I can tell: 1) BMW still knows how to build a gorgeous car, and 2) It is possible to build a hardtop convertible whose proportions aren’t awkward. Bravo.