Background

BMW’s astounding Z8 roadster started out at a weekend meeting in 1993 of a group of car enthusiasts. But these were not an ordinary group, they were the BMW Board, gathered for a farewell to departing Chairman Eberhard von Kuenheim.

Among the BMW models sharing space that weekend was a 507 Roadster, an iconic and low volume car from the 1950’s – what, they wondered would a modern version look like? They had a good base to work on – the Z series of sports roadsters had started with the Z1 best remembered for its lowering door access. Popular but only available in left hand drive, it was a great introduction to the series.

But the volumes were increased by the introduction of the Z3 – a roadster, a coupe and engine variants made this a popular car and, available in both left and right hand drive! But we are jumping ahead – those first thoughts in 1993 had moved on to design concepts and specifications – an aluminium body would make the car 30% lighter and a hand-built space frame offered the torsional stiffness needed for a roadster and not require the expensive tooling for steel presses.

For a powertrain, after considering a V12 option, they settled on the 5 litre V8 then under development for the forthcoming M5 saloon. BMW stylists led by Chris Bangle then set about creating a design that had, as its guide, the BMW 507. The result of their initial designs was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 1997 as a “design study” entitled the Z07. The 1950’s inspiration of the Z07 could be seen in a single headrest/fairing evocative of the racers from that era.

There was a silence for a couple of years until January 1999 when BMW announced at the Detroit Motor Show that their new supercar would become a production machine. With an all alloy 4941cc V8 delivering 400bhp at 6,600rpm driving through a 6-speed overdrive manual gearbox, 0-62mph was to be delivered in under 5 seconds and the performance dynamic enough to deliver 0-62mph acceleration and back to rest in under 8 seconds. New rack and pinion steering promised driving feel.

Production planning dictated the volume of production – major assemblies came from the Landshut factory while the aluminium spaceframe and body were fabricated at the Dingolfing plant with no less than 1,000 rivets and 57 metres of weld fixing the pressings. The engine came from the Garching factory while the final assembly was at the main Munich plant. Put into perspective, it took 10 times as long to build a Z8 than one of BMW E35 3 series saloons!

Properly launched at the Frankfurt Show in September 1999 then demonstrated to the press in the sunshine of California in a ride and drive exercise. The performance was a dynamic as was promised – around the famous Nurburgring race track a full 8 seconds faster that a BMW M5 saloon – but BMW balanced that with safety features to blend safety into the design.

ABS on the huge ventilated discs borrowed from the 750i Limousine, with AMS wheel sensors directing the system, DSC III traction control which could be disabled with a dashboard switch and in fact the entire interior had been designed with as much thought as the rest of the car.

Summary:

The production processes for the Z8 dictated low volumes and therefore a rarity in the market so this Z8 represents a real opportunity. But we can hear the questions, what is a BMW doing with Aston specialists Byron International?

Well, there is a link between these cars and Aston Martin and it goes by the name Bond – James Bond. Golden Eye saw the introduction of a BMW Z3 and then for the World is not Enough, Pierce Brosnan took it up a notch with a Z8! Tenuous maybe, but this is a marvelous car.

Three registered keepers but only two real owners, the car has a good ownership and service history with less than 15,000 miles covered in over 20 years. It makes this a great buy – rare, dynamic and beautiful – come and try the “ultimate driving machine”.

Vehicle History

Supplied new by BMW specialist Bates of Maldon to its first owners KCB Services of Romford, the car “changed hands” when the car was registered in the name of Kenneth Browne at the same address as the company.

In February 2004 it was acquired by the current owner in East Anglia from Lind of Chelmsford, another BMW specialist dealer to add to his collection. The mileage on acquisition was 6,003 miles and in the intervening 20 years, the car has covered an additional 8,000 miles only.