Guide: BMW E52 Z8
Background
BMW started production of their first Z car, the Z1, in late 1988. The firm had last offered a two-seat roadster, the 507, in the 1950s.
Despite several quirky features and a higher than anticipated price, the Z1 sold extremely well. By the time production was discontinued in June 1991, 8000 had been completed.
The more conventional Z3 arrived in September 1995 and became the first mass produced Z car: nearly 300,000 were built in less than seven years.
Although the Z3 did wonders for BMW’s balance sheet, executives at the company still wanted to revisit the kind of flagship sports car the firm had only tried twice before.
On both occasions, BMW’s attempt to create such a machine had ended in disaster. The 507 of 1956 to 1959 nearly put BMW out of business while the M1 of 1978 to 1981 (which started as a collaboration with Lamborghini) proved an organisational shambles.
BMW had come close to giving the green light to the Ital Design M12 / C2 supercar in the early 1990s, but the project was cancelled owing to poor trading conditions. However, a few years later, global economies had rebounded and, when it became clear the Z3 was going to be a big commercial hit, BMW management finally approved the creation of a spiritual successor to the 507.
The criteria was for a two-seat roadster with all-aluminum construction, V8 power and retro styling.
The result was the E52 Z8, test mules for which began to emerge in 1996.
The public got their first taste of the new model at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 1997 when BMW unveiled the Z07 concept. Two Z07s were created (a Coupe and a Roadster) and BMW announced production versions would go on sale within two years.
As promised, the production Z8 was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1999. However, to save money, BMW dropped the idea of a Coupe variant and the Z8 was only ever built in left-hand drive.
Nevertheless, the Z8 remained remarkably true to the original Z07 concept and cosmetically, very few changes were made, much to the pleasure of those customers that had already placed their orders.
Deliveries began in early 2000.
Chassis
The Z8 was built around an expensive MIG-welded aluminium spaceframe. It had a 2504mm wheelbase and the engine was located behind the front axle for 50/50 weight distribution.
The chassis was produced at BMW’s Dingolfing plant in Southern Bavaria and then shipped to the firm’s Munich factory for final assembly. The process was carried out almost entirely by hand and, as a result, the Z8 took ten times longer to build than an average BMW.
Front suspension was via MacPherson struts and lower wishbones. A five-link Z-axle was installed at the rear. Coil sprung dampers and anti-roll bars were fitted all round.
Vented disc brakes (334mm front / 328mm rear) were imported from the E38 750i. ABS, power steering and traction control were standard.
The 14-inch twin spoke alloy wheels measured 8-inches wide at the front, 9-inches wide at the rear and were originally shod with Bridgestone tyres.
A 73-litre fuel tank was fitted over the rear axle on the passenger side of the car.
Engine & Gearbox
In the engine bay was BMW’s first M Power V8: the Type S62 B50 (shared with the E39 M5).
It was an extensively modified iteration of the V8 found in BMW’s 540i and 740i models. Like those more mainstream powerplants, the Motorsport engine featured an aluminium block and head, dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. Similarly, it was constructed at the normal BMW engine plant.
There were, however, a host of important upgrades.
The S62 B50 was BMW’s first V8 engine to come with double Vanos (variable valve timing) which operated on the intake and exhaust camshafts. The pistons, crankshaft and con-rods were unique to this engine as were electronically actuated individual throttle bodies.
Other differences to the standard M62 V8 included a higher compression ratio (upped from 10.0:1 to 11.0:1), a double instead of single-row timing chain, hollow camshafts, a semi-dry sump lubrication system plus dual air intakes and dual mass flow sensors.
To save money, the standard car’s cast iron exhaust manifolds were retained.
Displacement was 4941cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 94mm and 89mm respectively. Bosch Motronic DME 5.2 engine management was employed.
Peak output was 394bhp at 6600rpm and 369lb-ft at 3800rpm.
The Z8 also imported the M5’s Getrag six-speed manual gearbox but did without its limited-slip differential.
Bodywork
Between the mid 1990s and early 2000s, retro design was popular with many automotive designers.
The Z8 was created in this vein as a modern homage to the 507.
Like its predecessor, the Z8 featured split intake nostrils, curvaceous BMW-branded side vents and a pronounced rear fender line. The nostrils, vents, wing mirrors and door handles were all chrome plated to add a classic twist.
At the front, high intensity Xenon headlights were mounted under clear glass covers. The pointed nose was also home to a deep front apron, shallow intake and discrete body coloured lip spoiler.
Slim wraparound tail lights were fitted at the back along with another body coloured apron out of which two fully shrouded exhausts emerged.
An electric canvas roof was standard as was a body coloured double bubble hardtop with heated rear windscreen.
Interior
The retro design theme continued inside.
A classically styled steering wheel featured a slender rim supported by three banks of four wire spokes.
The area directly behind the steering wheel was left vacant to give an unimpeded view of the road.
Instrumentation was housed in a central binnacle canted towards the driver. Four gauges were supplied: a large speedometer and rev counter with integrated clock together with smaller readouts for fuel and water temperature.
The dash top and base were leather while the mid section was body coloured plastic. Leather was also used to upholster the seats door panels, sidewalls, upper rear bulkhead and the rollover hoops.
Standard equipment included air conditioning, a ten-speaker CD multichanger, electric seats, electric windows, electric heated mirrors, leather trim, metallic paint, airbags. remote central locking and satellite navigation.
Options
As a result of the very high standard specification, options were limited to a choice of colours.
For the exterior, customers were given a choice of five standard shades: Titanium Silver, Black, Red, Topaz Blue or Stratus Grey.
Standard interior colours were monotone Black and Crema or two-tone Red / Black and Crema / Black.
BMW offered a wider range of exterior and interior colours as part of their Individual range.
Weight / Performance
The Z8 weighed in at 1585kg.
BMW quoted a 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds.
Top speed was electronically limited to 155mph but 180mph was reputedly possible in unrestricted form.
End of Production
Production of the Z8 was discontinued in June 2003.
5703 were built in total, all of which were left-hand drive.
2453 of these were bound for the North American market.
19 Z8s were completed with two-tone exteriors and metallic Bright Line wheels.
Special Variants
Two prototype press cars were assembled in 1998. They were subsequently equipped with a host of special 007 equipment and used for the James Bond movie The World is Not Enough.
99 press fleet cars followed in 1999 (81 for Europe and 18 for the US).
In 2001, a Z8 was specially modified to serve as a pace car for that year’s Moto GP race in Germany. It was equipped with a limited-slip differential, a roll cage and several other track upgrades all of which were fitted by BMW’s M division.
Just before the end of production, Bertone unveiled their Z8-based Birusa at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2003. The Birusa concept featured a carbonfibre body with butterfly doors, a sunroof that filtered out UV light, multilingual voice control, a night vision system and an opening rear hatch complete with Segway ramp.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: BMW - https://www.bmw.com
