BMW’s aluminum framed, engined and bodied GT sports roadster showcases ageless styling and performance.
Steve Huse loves fast cars and fast planes!
Henrik Fisker and his team at BMW’s DesignworksUSA in California had designed the original Z07 Concept car with production in mind. It was essentially a styling exercise to celebrate the stunning 1956-’57 BMW 507. It was so well received when shown at the 1997 Tokyo Auto Show and 1998 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, BMW decided to put it into (limited) production as the Z8 roadster.
In 1997, the late BMW 507 designer, Count Albrecht Goertz, paid the Z8 the ultimate compliment: “If I were to design the 507 today, it would look like the Z8.”
Vastly different from the design of typical late-1990s high-zoot, high-performance GT sports cars, the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive Z8, above, features a long hood, tapered overhangs, a cockpit positioned toward the rear, and a low beltline. The front-fender air vents or gills, with integrated fiber-optic turn signal lights, are a design element often associated with the classic 507 even though the concept dates from earlier BMWs. In a world of sharp-edged, angular sports cars, the Z8 is romantically curvaceous.
Sarasota Café Racer Steve Huse bought his red 2002 roadster new from the local Sarasota, Florida BMW dealership and alternates between it and a six-speed 2008 Porsche Cab S4 for daily driving. No stranger to high-performance transportation, Huse, above, flies a slick SOCATA TBM 700C2, a six-place 300-plus-mph Turboprop!
Costing just under $130,000 in 2002, the Z8 has an all-aluminum body and MIG-welded aluminum chassis and is powered by a 4.9-liter, 32-valve, DOHC V8, above. The aluminum 302 cubic-inch, four-cam engine was rated at 394 horsepower at 6,600 rpm and 368 pound-feet of torque at 3,800 rpm. Engines used in Z8s were specially built by BMW Motorsport and shared with M5 models. Thanks to its front/mid-mounted engine that sits behind the front axle, the Z8 boasts 50/50 weight distribution.
A small team of highly skilled craftspeople in a special section of BMW’s Munich plant coachbuilt limited production Z8s. Assembly time and finishing (31 assembly steps) was approximately ten times as long as production of the popular 3-Series sedan! Standard equipment consisted of an aluminum hardtop, heated Nappa leather seats, power soft-top, and interior trim, below, factory photo, accented by body-color painted surfaces and aluminum control knobs.
When new, Motor Trend testers claimed 0 to 60 mph times of 4.2 seconds and Road & Track recorded the Z8’s lateral grip at .92G. Interestingly, Car & Driver found the Z8 to outperform what was then a contemporary benchmark, the Ferrari 360 Modena, as far as acceleration, handling and braking were concerned. BMW electronically limited the Z8’s top speed to 155 mph. However, by reprogramming the engine control computer, a stock Z8 is capable of speeds over 185 mph!
Purchasers awaiting delivery of their roadsters were given high-quality scale model Z8s. Upon delivery they would receive a handmade book documenting the build of their car along with actual paint and upholstery samples from their car. They were offered the opportunity to take delivery of their car at their local dealership or BMW headquarters in Munich, Germany during final assembly and tour the Z8 assembly area. Another option was delivery at the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, SC and the opportunity to enroll in a special driving course.
BMW produced 5,703 2002-2003 Z8 roadsters with aluminum hardtops and approximately half were US export vehicles.
For more information about BMW vehicles, please visit,
http://www.bmwusa.com/
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The BMW Z8 Club can be contacted at, info@bmwz8.us