BMW Z8

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BMW EVER BUILT? YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY, BUT WE’D BACK THE STUNNING Z8 TO CARRY THAT VOTE

- ANDY ENRIGHT

Model BMW Z8

Engine 4941cc V8, dohc, 32v

Max power 294kW @ 6600rpm

Max torque 500Nm @ 3800rpm

Transmission 6-speed manual

Weight 1585kg

0-100km/h 4.7sec (claimed)

Economy 14.5L/100km

Price $450,000 (value today)

IN ORDER to understand the BMW Z8, first you need to understand the man behind its genesis, Prof Dr Wolfgang Reitzle. And to understand Reitzle, you need to know two things. The extravagant BMW 8 series was his pet project and his autobiography was called Luxus schafft Wohlstand – Luxury Creates Wealth. A deeply vain, yet fiercely intelligent executive, Reitzle believed he was being primed for coronation to the top job when the man who’d held BMW’s chief executive position for 29 years, Eberhard von Kuenheim, retired in 1993.

To give the aristocratic von Kuenheim a grand send off, BMW arranged a party at the Chateau de la Messardiere in St Tropez in May of that year, attended by senior executives. To underscore the marque’s achievements, it had arranged a display of BMW’s finest cars, amongst them the slinky 507 roadster from 1956. R&D boss Reitzle was captivated by the 507, as was head of production Bernd Pischetsrieder. Together they mulled the prospect of a successor that would appeal to a clientele who turned to Mercedes-Benz or Porsche for their statement roadsters.