2003 BMW Z8 Roadster

The BMW Z8 has a history that dates back to the 507 two-seater Roadster that was introduced in 1956. In 1997, at the Tokyo Auto Show, BMW showed a retro-inspired concept car called the Z07. It wore a design by Henrik Fisker and was initially intended to exist as a sold concept. Public reaction, however, was tremendously positive and spurred the decision to put it into limited serial production. The car that emerged was the Z8 and its design was remarkably faithful to the Z07 Concept. It had the 507-like twin-nostril front grille and front-wing vents. The interior, in keeping with the Z07 design, had period-styling and a banjo-style steering wheel. The aluminum body was formed over a space-frame chassis and was powered by a 4941cc V8 aluminum engine. The 400 horsepower enabled the roadster to race from zero-to-sixty mph in just 4.2 seconds.

The Z8 was given traction control, stability control, front and side air bags, GPS navigation, climate control and power operation of the seats, steering wheel and convertible top.

These retro-inspired flagship cars were hand built and produced in limited numbers. Production ceased in 2003 with just 5,703 examples built.

This particular example was originally sold in Connecticut in 2003. It is finished in Titan Silber Metallic over a black leather interior and has fewer than 13,000 original miles. The 32-Vlave V8 engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission and there are four-wheel disc brakes.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2015