Bmw Z1 Sports Car

The BMW Z1 is the first model in BMW's line of Z series roadsters (two-seater convertibles), and was produced in limited numbers from 1989 to 1991. The Z1 is unique for its plastic body panels and vertically sliding doors which drop into the door sills. The Z1 is the precursor to the Z3 and modern-day Z4 and can trace its origins back to the creation of the BMW Technik GmbH division in 1985.

This unit's task was to explore new vehicle designs and. The BMW Z1 was a short lived roadster built from 1989 until 1991. Featuring unique vertically sliding doors, the Z1 was powered by an 2.5L inline 6 engine that sent drive to the rear wheels through a 5 speed manual transmission.

Uniquely for a car of this era, the Z1 did not feature air conditioning as a factory option due to underhood packaging. The BMW Z1 was a test bed of ideas intended to revive its maker's sports car heritage. Here's the story of its development and significant impact Words: Jon Burgess Images: BMW Z3, Z8, Z4: chronologically confusing, but a well-defined line of sports cars.

Of course, it was the 8000-unit Z1 that began the 'Zukunft' (Future) line: a car that, in isolation, was over. Fittingly, the team's first project was the Z1 sports car. Though a fixed-roof coupe was designed in conjunction with the roadster, BMW elected to only move forward with the drop top.

BMW Z1 This little BMW roadster was a grand experiment in futuristic production techniques when it debuted in 1989. Some features like the flat undertray have become commonplace on high-end sports cars. Its removable plastic body panels and retractable doors didn't catch on, but they make the Z1 an interesting vision of a future that never came to pass.

The Z1 was ultimately let down by the driving experience. Its 170bhp power unit was sweet and smooth, but it had 1290kg to propel and simply didn't thrill the way a sports car at this price should have. A 0-60mph time of 7.9sec was firmly in hot hatch territory, as was the 136mph top speed.

BMW Z1 common problems. Dom Miliano takes a ride on the Plastic Fantastic, the BMW Z1, and learns what a truly innovative sports car it was. Manual override was possible for emergencies.

Unlike most sports cars of the period, BMW designer Harm Lagaay opted for covered rather than retractable headlights (one of the reasons the Z1 still looks fresh today). Deformable body panels allowed for a design free of ugly bumper appendages. This 1991 BMW Z1 sold for $27,152 at H&H's Duxford, England, auction on October 10, 2007.

Though initial demand was fierce-BMW says it took 5,000 orders before production began-that dropped off by 1988, and it's hard to see exactly who the Z1 was originally aimed at.