Buying a well-made, accomplished German sports car is easy. Most people looking for something upmarket and dependable will make a beeline for the nearest Porsche dealership, ready to put down a deposit on a new 911. It makes sense, right? Car magazines universally seem to love the Stuttgart coupe and convertible, which has decades of development under its belt, fastidious attention to detail, and bulletproof residuals. But what if you wanted something different? There is another German drop-top that is often forgotten that offers a lot of what the 911 has on paper, but with a lower price tag. The Porsche 911 Is The Benchmark Euro Sports Car Porsche Originally called the 901, the Porsche 911 was launched at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in 1963 as a successor to the company's 356 model. When the car went into production in September 1964 at the Porsche factory in Zuffenhausen, few would have imagined that its direct descendant, the 992.2, would still be going strong in 2026. Even the rear-engine layout, long seen as an idiosyncrasy that made the car a handful at times, remains, having been fettled and improved upon until the car is a true everyday supercar slayer. It's hard to imagine a car easier to live with day-to-day while possessing a true motorsport-bred focus — it's really that good. But Is The 911 The Best Bang For Your Buck? Porsche It doesn't seem that long ago that a Porsche 911 would set you back around $70,000 new. OK, it was a long time ago, but it doesn't feel that long ago. In fact, a 1998 Porsche 911 Carrera cost $68,000 new, coming with a 296-horsepower 3.4-liter flat six. In 2026, the base 911 Carrera costs a whopping $135,500, still with a flat-six, albeit a twin-turbocharged, 388-horsepower 3.0-liter unit. Interestingly, however, that $68,000 in 1998 is equivalent to $135,687 today, so it is in line with inflation. But that doesn't mean that you can't get a German sports car that will possibly match the 911's speed for almost half the price. It comes with a lot of the same attributes too, with a turbocharged six-cylinder engine providing plenty of whizz bang performance. The BMW Z4 Is A Cut-Price 911 BMW 2026 BMW Z4 M40i Vs 2026 Porsche 911 Carrera Source: ManufacturersThe BMW Z4 started out as a semi-competitor to the Mazda Miata, which had been a huge sales success in the '90s. It wasn't called Z4 however, launched as the Z3 (E36/7 Roadster and the E36/8 Coupe) as a successor to the quirky Z1. The letter Z may have stood for "Zukunft", German for future, but the Z3 was very much a nod to the simple roadsters of the past. It even started with a 115-horsepower four-pot engine (although a six was also available) to evoke the carefree days of the '60s. Fast-forward to 2026, and the Z4 as it is now known is a very different beast altogether. The Modern Z4 Is Surprisingly Quick The Z4 of today is no longer a whizzy little featherweight roadster (or the overlooked breadvan-like coupe) for people to live out their Austin Powers fantasies. Still available as a drop-top in 2026, whereas other rivals have gone coupe or disappeared altogether, it has a choice of either a punchy turbocharged four-, or a surprisingly powerful six-cylinder engine, connected to either an eight-speed automatic, or a six-speed stick for the Handschalter inline-six. The turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the sDrive30i produces 255 horsepower, reaching 60 mph in a useful 5.1 seconds. But that's not the one we are interested in as a comparison to the Porsche 911. The M40i Is A Supercar In A Roadster Body Bring a Trailer That would be the M40i model with a 382-horsepower and 369 lb-ft B58 turbocharged inline-six. This car will accelerate to 60 mph in a barely believable 3.5 seconds (independent testing), with 100 mph arriving in 8.8 seconds, and the quarter mile covered in 12 seconds flat. That sounds fast, right? And it is. According to Porsche, the base Carrera gets to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, although an independent test showed 3.1 seconds and a quarter mile of 11.4 seconds. Leaving the Porsche aside for a second, it's worth noting that a V10-powered 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo reached 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, and did the quarter in 12.4 seconds — that's considerably slower than a BMW Z4 of today. The Z4 Is Affordable Too BMWPricing for the Z4 starts at $56,100 for the sDrive30i, with the M TwinPower Turbo inline 6-cylinder M40i costing from $68,400. That's not a lot of money for a drop-top that will out-accelerate a Lamborghini of a few years back, and can go toe-to-toe with a 911 Carrera. The Z4 is a sensible purchase to boot, with a JD Power consumer rating of 82/100, with a commendable 85/100 for quality and reliability. The 911 tops the Z4 here, however, with a ridiculously good overall rating of 88/100, and a quality and reliability score of 91/100, showing that it is still an unbelievably solid purchase.The 911 Carrera comes with an eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission, with the Z4 also getting an eight-speed auto (the manual is an extra $3,500, which includes a few other bits). You'll need to get a 911 T (from $148,000) for a manual 'box. Why The Z4 Deserves More Attention BMW Not only is the Z4 blisteringly fast, it seems like you get the best of a lot of worlds. The cabin is comfortable and well screwed together, and you get a decent-sized trunk for driving holidays too. While the exterior of the M40i is perhaps a little subdued for some, even a bit too anonymous, it could be argued, it belies a raucous roadster when you want it, with pops and bangs to go with the hardcore performance. The overall shape is appealing in an old-school way, with a long hood that oozes old-school charm. Reviews praise the G29 Z4's precise steering, balanced chassis and limpet-like grip. The Z4 As We Know It Has Come To The End Of The Road BMW Sadly, the Z4 as we know it is soon to be no more, with the Final Edition seeing the model bow out in 2026. This car comes with exclusive BMW Individual Frozen Matt Black paint finish, M High-gloss Shadowline exterior trim, M Alcantara steering wheel and M Sport seats with red contrasting stitching, and specially engraved door sill strips. That model costs $78,675. With it possibly goes one of the last manual soft-tops around, with that sense of '60s non-nonsense wind-in-your-hair motoring being left largely to the Miata. BMW has announced plans to release a replacement for the Z4, says Hagerty, and we will have to wait and see what form that takes. Whether it will be a turbocharged manual roadster remains to be seen.Sources: Hagerty.com; Jdpower.com