One to Buy: 1100km Black 2003 BMW Z8
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At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1999, BMW unveiled a flagship Roadster inspired by the car that nearly drove the company to bankruptcy 40 years beforehand: the legendary late fifties 507.
Built around an aluminium spaceframe with MacPherson strut suspension up front and a multi-link arrangement out back, the new E52 Z8 was powered by a BMW Motorsport-developed V8 that pumped out 394bhp at 6600rpm and 369lb-ft at 3800rpm. Transmission was through a Getrag six-speed manual gearbox.
Cosmetically, the Z8 tapped into the late 1990s trend for retro design and was effectively a modern homage to the 507. Each car came with a double bubble hard top as standard and was electronically limited to 155mph. 0-62mph took just 4.7 seconds.
Z8 deliveries began in early 2000 and continued until June 2003. 5703 were built in total, all of which were left-hand drive.
As the first V8-powered two-seat Roadster offered by BMW in a lifetime, the Z8 unsurprisingly appealed to the kind of collector that planned to preserve their car in a practically brand new condition, adding very few miles to the odometer.
Currently residing at the DD Classics showroom in Richmond, London, is just such a car. A 2003 example ordered in the handsome combination of Black over Cream, it has covered just 1100km from new and, according to DD Classics: “remains in outstanding condition throughout having clearly been carefully stored and maintained from new. The paintwork, interior and trim all present exactly as you would expect from such a lightly used car, with very little sign of age or wear anywhere on the vehicle. A collector grade example supplied with its factory hardtop and cover.”
