{"id":85809,"date":"2026-06-20T11:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T15:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85809"},"modified":"2026-06-20T11:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T15:07:53","slug":"bovensiepen-zagato-first-drive-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85809","title":{"rendered":"This \u20ac370,000 Zagato Is Secretly a BMW M4 With 602 HP &#8211; First Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"post-summary-wrap\">\n<h3 class=\"post-summary-title\">Article Summary<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"post-summary-list\">\n<li>Only 99 units of the Bovensiepen Zagato will be built, priced from \u20ac310,000 (around \u20ac370,000 with VAT) and capped at 30 cars a year.<\/li>\n<li>Zagato wrapped the BMW M4 in a hand-built carbon-fiber body and boosted the S58 engine to 602 bhp and 516 lb-ft.<\/li>\n<li>A carbon-fiber hardtop and the removal of the particulate filter cut weight by 110 lbs and gave the exhaust its full voice back.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p>The Bovensiepen Zagato is not exactly what you\u2019d call attainable. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2025\/08\/27\/bovensiepen-zagato-exclusive-ride\/\">Only 99 will ever be built<\/a>, and Bovensiepen says production will be capped at 30 cars per year. In Europe, they will cost \u20ac310,000; when you factor in VAT, which in Germany is currently 20%, the price rises to around \u20ac370,000.<\/p>\n<p>That is a significant amount of money for something that still has a BMW M4 hiding somewhere underneath. But that\u2019s also the wrong way to look at it. Bovensiepen has changed so much of the car that the M4 becomes less of an identity and more of an organ donor. You can still obviously tell what it is when you drive it, but it has more power, more noise, and more comfort. It feels different.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re also cocooned in the hyper-premium Lavalina leather that ALPINA and now Bovensiepen are known for, and you\u2019re driving a Zagato-designed, full carbon-body, pillarless coupe.<\/p>\n<p>If you judge it purely as \u201can expensive BMW,\u201d it\u2019s absurd. If you judge it as a limited-run Zagato coupe, hand-built in tiny numbers, with Bavarian engineering and the ability to make you feel like a minor aristocrat every time you go for a drive, it starts to look almost sensible. Almost.<\/p>\n<p><iframe type=\"text\/plain\" class=\"cmplazyload\" data-cmp-vendor=\"s30\" data-cmp-purpose=\"c52\" title=\"I Drove the Rarest BMW M4 Ever Made (Only 99 Exist) - Bovensiepen Zagato\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-cmp-type=\"text\/plain\" data-cmp-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CuozOsSx-sQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>The Story Behind the Design<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-514698\" title=\"BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO TEST DRIVE 06\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO TEST DRIVE 06\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While I was in Austria to drive the Zagato coupe, Andreas Bovensiepen, the owner and CEO of Bovensiepen Automobile, told the story of the car\u2019s inception. He said that when they first approached Zagato to design this coupe, the nearly century-old Italian coachbuilder and automotive design house was hesitant to take on the project simply because the resulting car was deemed too affordable.<\/p>\n<p>Then Zagato\u2019s chief designer, Norihiko Harada, explained what he wanted to achieve with this car\u2019s design philosophy. He said the goal was to blend the typical Italian design charm with the almost architectural look of German cars \u2014 a \u201cbeautiful fusion of two automotive cultures,\u201d as he put it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-design-00.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-514706\" title=\"BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO DESIGN 00\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-design-00-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO DESIGN 00\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-design-00-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-design-00-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-design-00-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-design-00-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-design-00.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>That sounds like typical designer-speak, but only if you haven\u2019t seen the car in person. Throughout the event, I kept seeing Harada studying the coupe from different angles, walking around it slowly, stroking his chin, and touching the body as if a sculptor were checking the final details of a statue. It felt as though the way the exterior looked really mattered to him, and the result of this dedication is genuinely spectacular in the metal. Or carbon, rather.<\/p>\n<div class=\"review-recap-container\">\n<div class=\"review-recap-body\">\n<div class=\"review-recap-body-titles\">\n<div class=\"review-recap-body-good\">\n<h5>Good<\/h5>\n<div class=\"review-recap-body-good-content\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"review-recap-body-li-good\" id=\"good-li-1\">More power, lighter, real GT character<\/li>\n<li class=\"review-recap-body-li-good\" id=\"good-li-2\">Hand-built Zagato carbon body feels special<\/li>\n<li class=\"review-recap-body-li-good\" id=\"good-li-3\">Smart weight savings from carbon hardtop<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"review-recap-body-bad\">\n<h5>Bad<\/h5>\n<div class=\"review-recap-body-bad-content\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"review-recap-body-li-bad\" id=\"bad-li-1\">Nearly 4x the price of a regular M4<\/li>\n<li class=\"review-recap-body-li-bad\" id=\"bad-li-2\">Interior barely differs inside<\/li>\n<li class=\"review-recap-body-li-bad\" id=\"bad-li-3\">Cars driven weren&#8217;t finalized yet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Carbon Fiber, Inside and Out<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-514698\" title=\"BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO TEST DRIVE 06\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO TEST DRIVE 06\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-06.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So the entire car\u2019s body is new and made of carbon fiber. The hood, the front fenders, the doors, and the bumpers. The rear quarters are Zagato-shaped carbon too, but the M4\u2019s original steel skin is still underneath because it\u2019s part of the vehicle\u2019s structure, so it can\u2019t be removed for safety and homologation reasons.<\/p>\n<p>The car looks great from the side, but it\u2019s the rear three-quarter view that I just couldn\u2019t get enough of. It has an integrated decklid spoiler that is slightly upturned, and the flanks of the car stretch far back, creating two buttress-type structures that hide where the rear bumper meets the body. It\u2019s a gorgeous piece of design and the signature Bovensiepen wheels suit it perfectly.<\/p>\n<h2>Inside the Cabin<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-514694\" title=\"BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO TEST DRIVE 10\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-10-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO TEST DRIVE 10\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-10-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-10-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-10-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-10-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-10.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The interior isn\u2019t as special as the exterior. However, there is so much leather everywhere, and it\u2019s so satisfying to the touch that you instantly know you\u2019re not in a regular BMW. Bovensiepen is still working things out, changing things here and there. The cars we saw and drove weren\u2019t, let\u2019s say, final \u2014 there were subtle differences between them.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, one car had a thinner-rimmed steering wheel that was harder to the touch and covered in Alcantara. This had a big positive impact on the driving experience, and it really made the standard M steering wheel feel a bit too thick and squishy.<\/p>\n<h2>Behind the Wheel<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-05.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-514699\" title=\"BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO TEST DRIVE 05\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-05-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"BOVENSIEPEN ZAGATO TEST DRIVE 05\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-05-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-05-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-05-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-05-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bovensiepen-zagato-test-drive-05.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Walking around the Bovensiepen Zagato, taking in all of its subtle shapes, and then enjoying the tactile delight of its interior could take a lot more time \u2014 but it was the driving experience that really sealed the deal for me and made me pat my pockets for a spare \u20ac370,000. Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t find it.<\/p>\n<p>Bovensiepen has fettled the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2019\/06\/10\/a-closer-look-at-the-future-bmw-m3-m4-engine-the-s58\/\">S58 engine<\/a>, extracting 602 bhp and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm), and it feels quicker than a standard M4 Competition. By removing the heavy folding roof mechanism and installing a carbon-fiber hardtop in its place, they were able to reduce the vehicle\u2019s weight by around 110 lbs (50 kg), bringing it down to 4,134 lbs (1,875 kg), further helping it feel athletic.<\/p>\n<h2>On the Track<\/h2>\n<p>The original plan was to drive the car on road and track, but the street drive didn\u2019t materialize. That was a shame, because a car like this needs real bumps, cambers, and broken tarmac to properly explain itself. I wanted at least one photograph of it with an Alp looming in the background. Instead, I drove it only around the Salzburgring. Still, even just on track, I learned plenty about what it feels like to drive.<\/p>\n<p>The first thing I noticed was the sound. Because the European Union mandates that all cars now have to have a particulate filter, the M4 you can buy here today has one and it muffles the S58\u2019s savage roar to a degree. However, because Bovensiepen is only making 99 of these cars, it was able to circumvent the requirement, so the OPF is gone.<\/p>\n<p>It also has a complete titanium exhaust from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2025\/03\/21\/inside-akrapovic-factory-tour-racing-exhaust-engineering\/\">Akrapovic<\/a>, which makes the engine sound surprisingly different from a standard M4. It sounds less rough and angry and more like a gentleman\u2019s grand tourer that still screams as you approach the top end of the rev range. It sounds absolutely glorious \u2014 even more different than I would have expected.<\/p>\n<h2>Suspension and Handling<\/h2>\n<p>The suspension is heavily revised too, in keeping with its GT character. It\u2019s softer and more compliant, but still very much in its element on the track. It gets different adaptive dampers with specific top mounts, new springs, and what feels like softer anti-roll bars. All of these changes came together to produce a vehicle that soaks up bumps that would have made an M4 bounce.<\/p>\n<h2>I Would Buy One. If Money No Object<\/h2>\n<p>I drove to Austria skeptical that any company, even one with Bovensiepen\u2019s history, could justify selling an M4-based coupe for nearly four times the price of the car underneath. I drove back wanting one badly enough to reconsider several major life decisions, beginning with why I had wasted so many years not becoming a millionaire.<\/p>\n<div class=\"review_wrap\" readability=\"6\">\n<div id=\"review-box\" class=\"review-box review-bottom review-percentage\" readability=\"7\">\n<p> <span><\/p>\n<h5>Exterior Appeal &#8211; 8<\/h5>\n<p><span data-width=\"80\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<p> <span><\/p>\n<h5>Interior Quality &#8211; 9<\/h5>\n<p><span data-width=\"90\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<p> <span><\/p>\n<h5>Steering Feedback &#8211; 8<\/h5>\n<p><span data-width=\"80\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<p> <span><\/p>\n<h5>Performance &#8211; 9<\/h5>\n<p><span data-width=\"90\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<p> <span><\/p>\n<h5>Handling &#8211; 8.5<\/h5>\n<p><span data-width=\"85\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<p> <span><\/p>\n<h5>BMWness\/Ultimate Driving Machine &#8211; 8.5<\/h5>\n<p><span data-width=\"85\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<p> <span><\/p>\n<h5>Price Point &#8211; 6<\/h5>\n<p><span data-width=\"60\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"review-summary\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><h3>8.1<\/h3>\n<h4\/>\n<div class=\"review-short-summary\" readability=\"17\">\n<p>The Bovensiepen Zagato takes a BMW M4 and reworks it into a hand-built, carbon-bodied coupe with a Zagato-designed body, 602 HP, a titanium Akrapovic exhaust, and revised suspension for true GT character. Limited to 99 units and priced from \u20ac310,000, it trades affordability for exclusivity and a genuinely transformed driving experience, even if the interior and final development details still need polishing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"specs-container\">\n<h3>Bovensiepen Zagato<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article Summary Only 99 units of the Bovensiepen Zagato will be built, priced from \u20ac310,000 (around \u20ac370,000 with VAT) and capped at 30 cars a year. Zagato wrapped the BMW M4 in a hand-built carbon-fiber body and boosted the S58 engine to 602 bhp and 516 lb-ft. A carbon-fiber hardtop and the removal of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/85810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}