This Swiss Shop Wants To Turn Your BMW Z4 Into A One-Off Classic
A Swiss company called Atelier Edo Popken says it will now build custom versions of the BMW Z4, one car at a time, under the name EDO Roadster. No two will be identical — the company’s pitch is literally “always one of one.” The name behind it, Edo Popken, isn’t new to this kind of thing. He spent time as a brand ambassador for the BMW i8 and worked on earlier custom builds off that car, including the i8 Procar and the i8 Roadster RSL. This time the Atelier is handling design, paint, and interiors, while a sister company, Edo Motorsport, does the mechanical work.
The press release lists a long set of changes to the body — a reworked front end, a new rear diffuser, dual round exhaust tips the company says nod to the old BMW Z8 — and claims more than 111 parts have been touched in total.
There will be two versions. The Concorso keeps an 8-speed automatic and adds adaptive cruise control and heated seats — the more relaxed, cruiser-friendly option. The Ultraleggera drops in a 6-speed manual and carbon-fiber bucket seats instead, with more weight cut out of the car.
On power, Edo Motorsport is claiming north of 400 horsepower, over 440 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque, sub-4-second 0–60 times, and a top speed past 150 mph. It’s also claiming power-to-weight gains of 17% and 20% for the two versions, respectively, plus unspecified brake and chassis upgrades.
One detail that stands out: the company says the car keeps its Petrol Particulate Filter and stays emissions-compliant “in most markets,” with a U.S. version reportedly in the works. No date attached to that.
What’s missing from the release is just as notable — there’s no pricing, no word on how many they plan to build, and no delivery timeline. That’s fairly typical for this kind of low-volume coachbuilder; expect cost and lead time to come down to a conversation per customer rather than a posted price.
Popken frames the whole project as building something that ages well rather than chasing trends, calling it a “future classic” in the release. Whether that holds up is the kind of thing only time — and the collector market — will actually decide. But for now, we love what we’re seeing, especially since the base Z4 Roadster is a favorite of ours.
[Photos: EDO Motorsport]
First published by https://www.bmwblog.com
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