Some say this is the most beautiful motorcar ever assembled - I'd sign that. Even if you disagree you cannot argue with its commanding presence:
A picture says more than a 1000 words. I could wrap this post up now but you're here for the complete car scooping walkaround right? Let's go...
I was on my way home from work when I caught this mint condition, perfectly executed BMW Z8 with 21" Alpina rims. The notebook bag was quickly tossed aside and the snapping began. Luckily it was parked top down so I got a glimpse of the interior which is even more awe inspiring than the exterior:
Walking around the front end there's a myriad of details that you only catch on second glimpse such as the headlight washing unit whose cover is painted in piano black and seamlessly integrated into the headlight assembly. The chrome plates fog light frames and 507 inspired intake grills are beautiful touches.
The Z8 (internal code E52) was penned by Henrik Fisker a danish designer who's also known for another timeless beauty built by Aston Martin - the DB9. At the time BMW simultaneously built the E31 8 series, the E38 7 series, E39 5 series (including the legendary M5), the E46 3 series and the E52 Z8 Roadster now if that's not a lineup for the halls of fame of car design and engineering I don't know what is.
Powered by the M5s 5.0L V8 naturally aspirated 400hp power unit it came exclusively with the M5s 6 speed manual transmission. Back when it came out people wondered what it actually tried to be. Is it a sports car? Probably too puristic and low-tech for that. Is it a GT? Too noisy and cramped inside so that's not it. Is it a Mercedes SL competitor? Not enough gizmos and too artistic in its execution. So what is it? BMW never commented on it.
The press release gave some hint as to how this came about:
"In developing the Z8, BMW designers were challenged to imagine what the original 507 would be like if it had never ceased production and had evolved over four decades. The result of this creative direction is a thoroughly contemporary interpretation of that famous and coveted roadster - a car that is truly a perfect blend of performance and sensuality; of modern technology and classic elegance."
That's that then.
The air intakes in the side fenders which are functional and release heat out of the engine bay are literally taken from the original BMW 507:
On to the left side profile shot at street level tells you all you need to know about that perfect blend of performance and classic elegance:
On to the rear where we find some very impressive design cues and technologies:
See those thin light stripes? Before anyone contemplated LED lightning for application in cars these crazies came up with the idea of using neon (!) light. Good for the lifetime of the car and combining rear lights, brake lights and turn signals.
The rear fog lights mirror the ones at the front and are in exactly the same position. A closer look at those neon lights:
Moving on to the right flank the rollover bars come to dominate the view. Naturally they are wrapped in the same leather as the rest of the interior.
Seriously were these designers on crack or what? How any commercially active company, a mass producers of road cars could pump out something this original, this beautiful and this unique is amazing.
Now was that Z8 plaque there in the original 507 and is an homage to it? Short answer: no. You might be reminded of the Corvette C5 Conertible's waterfall between the seats featuring the Corvette logo, so was I. Either way they managed to integrate it nicely into the interior and it feels natural.
A very distinct design feature of the interior is the centrally located instrument cluster and the fact that not one switch, button, latch, panel, trim part, seat or anything else that's visible is used in ANY other BMW produced at the time.
If you know the history of BMW you know they love to apply the 'Baukastenprinzip' in essence having one giant toolbox of parts which is recycled through every single model. Case in point are the world famous twin headlights used in the 80s 3, 5 and 7 series - in all three models the headlight unit was exactly the same. Styling differences in the fenders, hood, light frames and bumpers gave them a distinctive look. Given that it speaks volumes to the effort put into this car because of the very absence of anything familiar bar the BMW logo on the steering wheel and the font on the dials.
The shiny silver parts are areas the driver touches in order to drive and operate the car. It was a design directive that every component the driver touches must be wrapped in leather or ceramic plated.
The option to have (partial) ceramic plating on interior features returned only 15 years later in the 2014 7 series.
Note the ignition switch to the upper right of the steering column. The car requires the key in the switch but the engine is started via the Start/Stop button.
Moving around the rear to the right side I managed to take an ultra low street level perspective shot against the sun. Those lines...
A slightly elevated look at the right profile view. It quickly becomes evident that no matter what angle you chose to capture this car from - it turns out as timeless beauty.
A closeup of the optional 21" Alpina so called 'Dynamic' wheel with a classic 5 spoke star layout, each spoke consists of 5 mini spokes. It fits the car so well one might think they designed it just for this one model.
This is the only time I caught one of these 'one of 399' Z8s out on the road. I congratulate the owner on this epic, timeless and amazing machine and wish him well!
So long...by the way note my bag on the street behind the car.