We put the BMW Z4 M40i through its paces on dual carriageways and winding back roads. We test the manual gear change, the auto-blip feature, and the different driving modes to see how it transforms.

Take a small-ish two-seater, push the wheels to the edge of the chassis, throw on a rag-top, and then put in a loud angry turbo flat-six and you have a formula that would plaster a stupidly wide grin ...