Farewell to an Icon: BMW Bids Adieu to a 30-Year Legacy with Exclusive Final Edition Model

BMW has decided to conclude one of its most cherished projects.

The renowned German carmaker revealed recently that production of the 2026 Z4, their two-seater convertible roadster, will cease in April.

For many car aficionados, this marks the conclusion of a legendary era.

The Z series gained momentum in the mid-1990s when the Z3, manufactured in Spartanburg, gained fame in the James Bond movie GoldenEye. It wasn’t long before it became a collectible Matchbox model and a favorite among celebrity car enthusiasts.

In the early 2000s, the Z4 emerged as a sleeker and more contemporary successor, eventually representing BMW as a steadfast figure in the world of motorsports.

Its demise also joins a growing list of sports cars getting the axe as sales of anything other than SUVs continue to slide. 

‘So, Roadsters are even useless in this day and age?’ an upset enthusiast said on Reddit about the Z4’s last days. ‘It is just not fair, the Z4 has been a legend for decades.’ 

BMW’s Z cars have always lived just left of logic — fun-first machines that felt like they were greenlit by someone inside the company with high-end taste and a need for constant thrills. 

BMW secured the coveted title as a Bond vehicle with the 1995 GoldenEye film. Irish A-lister, Pierce Brosnan, who played Bond, drove the roadster with his on-screen muse, Izabella Scorupco, who played Natalya Simionova

The long-nosed, two-door coupe was one of the most iconic cars in BMW’s history

Tomas Berdych, once the number four tennis player in the world, was pictured outside a BMW Z4 convertible before a match in 2009

It all started with an oddball. The German-made Z1 arrived in the late ’80s with doors that opened downward into the body instead of swinging outward on hinges. 

The ’90s Z3 got its Bond moment. The early 2000s Z8 is considered one of the most beautiful vehicles by auto designers.

And the Z4 — especially this generation — kept that lineage alive as one of the last simple, rear-wheel-drive, two-seat convertibles a normal person could still buy. 

The Final Edition is BMW’s goodbye letter to the convertible. 

BMW dipped the body in matte black paint to prepare for the funeral, but then stitched the seats in jolting red thread as a final flash of sportiness. 

There are no other color options. 

Buyers get only one real choice: an eight-speed automatic that hits 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, or a six-speed manual that takes 30 percent longer to get there. 

BMW etched the words ‘Z4 Final Edition’ into the door sills. Pricing starts at $78,675, no matter the transmission, and deliveries begin next year.

A-list stars frequently rolled around in the roadster, including singer Kelly Clarkson (in the passenger seat)

The’Final Edition’ will be dipped in a matte black paint to commemorate the end of the Z4’s production 

The BMW Z4 was built in Spartanburg, North Carolina 

BMW says there is only one color option for the final model – the interior is stitched with an eye-popping red

Production only runs from February through April of 2026, so the number built will be tiny.

The automaker didn’t respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.  

BMW’s roadster is hardly the only impractical, fun-loving car being sent out to pasture. 

Toyota will also shutter the Supra in 2026, ending the sports car’s second American run. 

The Japanese automaker worked with BMW’s motorsports team on the engine, so it shares similar DNA to the Z model. But, like the current generations of the BMW, Toyota’s sales never took off. 

In 2023, Chevy discontinued its latest attempt at the Camaro muscle car, too. Ford also axed the GT in 2022 and the Focus RS in 2018.