2002 BMW Z8

The turn of the 2000s saw many manufacturers re-envisioning some of the models of their past, and BMW was no exception. In the mid-1990s, Chief designer Christopher Bangle led his team to design a modern interpretation of the iconic BMW 507 of the 1950s styled by Count Albrecht Goetz. Henrik Fisker penned the exterior design that was instantly recognizable as an homage to the 507, and featured a long nose with wide-oval shaped kidney grilles with driving lights set at the outer ends, a short rear deck, and two bucket seats that were set in the rear wall, and configured as either a coupe with a double-bubble roof or as a roadster with a long helmet fairing as was common in racing cars of the 1950s. Inside, the vintage theme continued with a banjo-spoke three-spoke steering wheel, a painted plastic dash panel reminiscent of the painted dashboard of the 50s, and a three gauge instrument cluster in the center of the dashboard. 

The Z07 concept debuted at the 1997 Tokyo Auto Show and instantly created a buzz of excitement within the automotive community. Luckily, the Z07 concept was designed with production in mind, so there were minimal changes to its original design, and was introduced to the world as the Z8- available only as a roadster without the helmet fairing, but with a built-in convertible top and additional hardtop. The Z8 made its debut to the public in the 1999 James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough” and solidified its place as BMW’s flagship cruiser powered by the E39 M5’s 395-horsepower V8 and six-speed transmission. The Z8 boasted some impressive performance figures- it was able to sprint to 60mph in just 4.5 seconds and posted a faster time in the quarter-mile than a Ferrari 360 Modena Spider with a time of 13 seconds. However, it did not handle quite as well as some of its sports-car contemporaries, and it was often noted that its suspension was overly stiff and its ride was excessively harsh. Production of the Z8 ceased in November of 2002 and total production amounted to 5,703 units, with a short run of 555 Alpina iterations.

This two-owner example was ordered new to Competition BMW in Smithtown, NY, and was configured in Titanium Silver with a Sport Red leather interior with black leather bolsters. Its two owners have driven it sparingly since it was delivered twenty years ago and only shows 9,226 miles today on the odometer.  Included with the car are the original owner’s manuals, tool roll, battery charger, puncture repair kit, wind deflectors, body-color painted removable hard top, car covers, and a set of Alpina 20-inch multi-spoke wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport tires.

 Despite a very brief period after production, the Z8 and its Alpina variant have held their values and continued to trend upwards in value to this day. They have solidified their place as a modern collectible in the eyes of automotive collectors around the globe and are certain to remain as coveted models alongside the original BMW 507 model.