The first time I drove the new BMW Z4 M Coupé was at the Estoril race track in Portugal, at the car's international media launch in June last year.
The car rocked my world, but I thought it might have something to do with the sense of occasion. Because not only was this a place to let rip and test its considerable performance, handling and braking abilities, but Estoril was also the scene of triple World champion Ayrton Senna's first Formula 1 victory in 1985.
But no. It's now on sale in South Africa and I've had another bite at the cherry - and BMW's M3-engined two-seater has lost little of its lustre.
It's just that you need a race track or a quiet stretch of traffic and speed trap-free tar to really enjoy it.
The M Coupé feels frustrated and constrained in the tedium of traffic, chomping at the bit for an open and preferably twisty road. It demands a lot of the driver and isn't as accessible and easy to drive as we've generally come to expect from modern sports cars.
A stiff clutch with a grabby action makes commuting a chore, and my sometimes abysmal failure to pull away smoothly made it look as if I was practising for my first driving licence test.
But it's partly this lack of culture that gives the M Coupé its character. It's not a slick, boy band type of car, accessible to all. It's more a Jimi Hendrix guitar solo, hard and heavy and appealing to a specialist audience - as with the original Z3 MCoupé.
Like its Z3-based progenitor, the Z4 M Coupé gets a permanent roof and a 3.2-litre M3 engine up front. It's rear-wheel driven and the gearbox is a six-speed manual.
The iconic straight six engine is quoted at 252kW and 360Nm to give a claimed sea level 0-100km/h sprint in just five seconds and a governed 250km/h top speed.
Matching the engine output is firmer sports suspension than found in other Z4s, along with high performance brakes. The footwear comprises 18'' alloys wearing thicker rubber at the rear than the front, while traction control and an M differential lock ensure that it stays glued to the tar.
The Z3 M Coupé was a strange-looking beast when it first hit the streets with very offbeat proportions, although the shape eventually grew on many people (including me). The Z4 version is right at first sight; it's a more integrated and natural design, looking like it was styled with a hard top all along.
That probably makes it a "safer" design that will appeal to more people, but there's still lots of aggression and athleticism in its lines.
The coupé has a pair of raised ridges in the bonnet that give it a tighter, leaner look than the slabby-nosed Z4 roadster, and there's a similar centre parting in the roof.
Visceral driving experience
It's a visceral driving experience. You sit low in the car, gripping the satisfyingly thick cowhide-covered steering wheel while snugly ensconced in sculpted bucket seats - electrically adjustable, of course.
The ride is low and firm, and the steering - a hydraulic system as opposed to the electromechanical power steering found in other Z4s - is surgically sharp and direct.
All the correct sports car responses are there, and a Sports button livens up the throttle response in case you didn't feel it wasn't direct enough to begin with.
Unleashed on an empty stretch of tar the car blasts off with a bewitching blare that makes a fitting accompaniment to all the G-forces on call here. What starts as a deep baritone at low revs becomes a rasping war cry through the quartet of tailpipes when approaching its 8000rpm redline.
Pace, grip and all-round sharpness
Many high-performance cars feel sporty on the road but lose some of their edge on a race track, where driving near the limit exposes some weaknesses. That doesn't happen with the MCoupé; it feels every bit the racing car around a fast and winding circuit with its pace, grip and all-round sharpness.
The M Coupé is more rigid than the open-topped Z4 roadster, giving it a solid feel and the taut and flex-free handling to go chasing around corners at great speed.
Above all, its big ABS-assisted brakes are impressive, failing to show signs of fade even after many laps of harsh punishment by an enthusiastic driver.
This is the way the MCoupé likes to be driven - balls-to-the-wall, ten-tenths, preferably with an attendant sand trap to take care of any operator error.
Getting sideways
DSC prevents tail-happiness from ending in tears, but it can be switched off by drivers who are well versed in countersteering techniques. There's no snap-oversteer, but the car has little trouble getting sideways.
Apart from the unfriendly clutch the car has all the necessary comforts to make it an appealing everyday car.
There's enough room for two adults to sit in comfort under that low-looking roof; the seats can move further back than in the previous MCoupé and the steering column adjusts for both height and reach.
There's decent storage space in a lidded bin between the seats, and all the push-button necessities are in attendance.
An optional satellite navigation system was fitted to our test car which I felt could have been a standard item at the R555 000 price.
There's no spare wheel, but an M Mobility system with foam and a compressor lets you repair a not-too-serious puncture.
Summary
The M Coupé offers great performance for the money as it costs about 150 grand less than the (less powerful) Porsche Cayman S.
It's not as mainstream or user-friendly as a Mercedes-Benz SLK or Audi TT, more of a hardcore sports machine for the committed enthusiast, a rebel whose mother probably didn't hug it enough as a child.