The BMW Z8

The BMW Z8

The exotic styling of Z8 will echo the Z07 concept car very closely. The broad kidney grille and small xenon headlights faired in by glass covers flow into a long bonnet with muscular wheel arches and wide doors rounded off by a shapely yet purposeful tail with four large tailpipes. The Z8 will even bear the typical 507 air scoops on its front wings whilst a luxurious leather interior will be set off by a central instrument binnacle redolent of the great era of convertible cars.



Under the skin of its flowing body, the Z8 is pure technology. Built on an aluminium alloy spaceframe and carrying an all-aluminium body, with the exception of the bumpers, the Z8 will ride on aluminium suspension components, as pioneered on the BMW 5 Series. The entire front axle and subframe of the Z8 is fabricated from this weight-saving material. New rack and pinion steering provides outstanding road feel whilst new double spoke 18 inch alloy wheels (8 inch front, 9 inch rear) are mounted with 245/45 R18 and 275/40 R18 run flat tyres.



The power unit for the BMW Z8 is no less than the five litre eight cylinder engine from the M5. Producing 400 bhp and 500 Nm of torque and driving through a manual six speed gearbox, the Z8's performance more than matches its looks - 0-62 mph in under five seconds, whilst 0-62 mph and back to zero in less than eight seconds proves it stops as well as it goes.

The Z8 comes equipped with a 4.9 liter V8 with a monster 394hp. Standard features include leather, ABS, 18 inch alloys, 6 speed manual transmission and vehicle navigation system.

The Z8 is a reincarnation of the 1957 roadster called the 507. I must admit, before the Z8, I had never heard of the 507 and now that I have seen pictures, I wonder what took BMW so long to bring this classic back from the dead. The 507 was similar to the E type Jaguars of that time and I found it more appealing than the mighty M1 minus the drive train.

The Z8 features numerous meticulously crafted features such as the all aluminum frame and body. The body is assembled similar to today's jet aircraft in that it requires several rivets and the frame is assembled by hand with several series of tig welds. The end result is super light and strong integral frame and body. You don't see many rivets in today's automobile construction largely because there is only one other all aluminum automobile on the market, the Audi A8. BMW put everything into this car; it appears they would stop at nothing by creating this wonderfully crafted roadster that will be compared to several vehicles that are more expensive. This car is also a “daily driver”; if you can contain your pedal pressure, it will perform in a civilized manor without any complaints. In short ,the Z8 has everything except the stunning blonde that this babe mobile demands. The end result is a body that is smooth, slippery and most of all sexy.

The Z8's most attractive feature, in my opinion is the all aluminum 5.0 liter V8. This is same engine that launches the M5 minus a few extra pounds, almost 500 pounds depending on the few options available in either car. This smooth and quiet screamer features dual overhead cams and 4 valves per cylinder. This engine has 11 to 1 compression ratio that helps the little 302 put out a hefty 400 bhp and 369 lb-ft of torque. The valve train utilizes Double VANOS, which is BMW's version of variable valve timing that is partially responsible for the split personality of a little toy at idle and a more than capable racer on acceleration.