The BMW Z8’s last chance at redemption – car pictures of the week
Perfect ingredients, imperfect whole. But was the Z8 really deserving of its lowly three-star evo rating? We give it another chance
They say time heals all wounds and indeed, in this month’s issue of evo magazine, we’re putting that theory to the test. The wound in question? The disappointment we felt with the driving experience of what should have been one of the coolest soft-top sports cars around, the BMW Z8. Here are some of our favourite shots from our reacquaintance with one of the most polarising – and now collectable – models of BMW’s recent history.
The three stars the Z8 earned when new entirely belied what was a tantalising prospect on paper: a roadster hand-built out of aluminium, with a 50:50 weight distribution, packing a stonking M5 V8, putting little short of 400bhp to the rear wheels via a manual gearbox. And for the cool factor? The retro-modern styling (a novelty when new in 2000) would have been enough on its own, without a Mr J. Bond becoming BMW’s first customer.
Unfortunately the result was a car that wasn’t as fun to drive as the 200kg-heavier saloon from which it borrowed its 4.9-litre engine. So what redemption could it possibly earn over 25 years on? Well, giving this example more than half a chance is that it’s relieved of the loathsome run-flat tyres with which Z8s were fitted from new. That, and 25 years of evolving tastes, could stand the Z8 in good stead. Read the feature, an excerpt of which is below, in issue 345 of evo to find out how it gets on.
‘Our first drive and subsequent road test both noted the fact that even in the low gears, the back stayed hooked up under full acceleration. There was a complaint in the road test of unexpected understeer, but here across Salisbury Plain, and later across the hills near Lambourn, there’s only a hint of push when you’re committing the Z8 hard to a tight turn.
‘My initial complaint that the steering is heavy and lacks brightness evaporates with speed too. It’s as if variable assistance wasn’t available so the engineers chose a compromise, and that compromise means that the steering weighting is spot-on at a brisk A- and B‐road pace. I’m enjoying it a lot in what are near-perfect conditions, on warm roads, hood down in the sunshine.’ – John Barker, evo editor-at-large.
