RX8Club.com - Bmw Z8

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What are your thoughts on this car??
Beautiful looking car IMO, good performance too match. I would much rather this than an SL.

http://www.autosalon-singen.de/bmw/B...7_04_02_01.jpg
http://www.autosalon-singen.de/bmw/B...7_04_02_02.jpg
http://www.autosalon-singen.de/bmw/B...7_04_02_03.jpg

Always liked the Z8, but i dont care for the center guages.

Looks like a vintage roadster from the front, a Porsche Boxster from the back. I dig it, for the most part.

Looks a lot like the 1957 BMW 507.

Retro design is not just for the American car makers.
http://www.sendersnj.com/rx8/Mike/rx8club/0301_832.jpg

It was based off of the 507 to my knowledge.

Are you sure it's not based on this?... ;)

http://www.astonmartin-lotus.com/ima...ish_2_copy.jpg

Pretty sure, since it looks nothing like the AM and the design concept was shown a year before the Vanquish was I think, (1999 vs 2000). I guess they both have a strake and raked headlight covers.

This is the closest angle I could find to the vanquish above, very little in common.
http://www.elite-zuzwil.ch/docs/bmw%20z8/z8_2g.jpg

Love the car, I have one for my current PC wallpaper. It was a inspired by the classic 507.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueEyes

Yea, the more I look at the Vanquish (good job recognizing it, btw), the more I wonder why I made that post. I was just joking, but the Z8 does look like an old Aston Martin or some other late-70s/early-80s car. Can't put my finger on it, though...

Blueyes

We dont get the Z 8 here but you are right to say that its better than an Mercedes SL , IT WILL CERTAINLY be more collectible as a classic in time to come . :D

Do you have specs and costs for the car ??

cheers
michael

Looks nice but I do not believe it has sold very well. Has a reputation down here in CT as a poseur's car.

It was a limited production car, it's not like the SL in that regard.
I love it when cars are labeled poseur cars though. The people who label them that (not you) are just jealous and generally can't understand why you would pay that much money for something so irrational that doesn't go a million miles an hour and wear a prancing horse badge. If I had money for cars that cost this much, I would definitely have this in my garage for sunny afternoon drives on a twisty road on the way to get some dinner at a restaurant over looking the water with a tall brunette in a tight dress :), that is what this car is for.

This is how car and driver summed it up:

Quote:

a hugely refined and sophisticated Cobra.

The specs are as follows:

Quote:

price $128 000 USD
engine Aluminum V8
valvetrain DOHC, 4 Valves per Cyl
displacement 4941 cc / 301.5 cu in
bore 94 mm / 3.7 in
stroke 89 mm / 3.5 in
compression 11.0:1
power 298.3 kw / 400.0 bhp @ 6600 rpm
hp per litre 80.96 bhp per litre
bhp/weight 244.65 bhp per weight
torque 500.3 nm / 369.0 ft lbs @ 3800 rpm
redline 7000 rpm
drive wheels RWD
body / frame Aluminum Body over Aluminum Spaceframe
front brakes Vented Discs w/Vacuum Assist, ABS
f brake size 343 mm / 13.5 in
rear brakes Vented Discs w/Vacuum Assist, ABS
r brake size 328 mm / 12.9 in
front wheels F 45.7 x 20.3 cm / 18.0 x 8.0 in
rear wheels R 45.7 x 22.9 cm / 18.0 x 9.0 in
front tire size 245/45ZR-18 Bridgestone Potenza RE040
rear tire size 275/40ZR-18 Bridgestone Potenza RE040
steering Rack & Pinion w/Power Assist
f suspension MacPershon Struts w/Lower A-Arms, Coil Springs, Tube Shocks, Anti-Roll Ba
r suspension Multi-Link w/Coil Springs, Tube Shocks, Anti-Roll Ba
weight 1635 kg / 3605 lbs
wheelbase 2504 mm / 98.6 in
front track 1552 mm / 61.1 in
rear track 1567 mm / 61.7 in
length 4374 mm / 172.2 in
width 1831 mm / 72.1 in
height 1318 mm / 51.9 in
transmission 6-Speed Manual
gear ratios 4.23:1, 2.53:1, 1.67:1, 1.23:1, 1.00:1, 0.83:1
final drive 3.15:1
top speed 249.4 kph / 155.0 mph
0 - 60 mph 4.3 seconds
0 - 100 mph 10.5 seconds
0 - 1/4 mile 12.8 seconds
drag 0.43 Cd
epa city/hwy 17 mpg

For US$130K, it doesn't surprise me that thing didn't sell very well. I'm sure people would much rather have that 12-cylinder BMW 7 series if they really needed to spend that kind of money.

BMW considers the Z8 a sucess. They sold all 5700 of them in the 3 years they were in production, and many of them went to classic car collectors who obviously saw something in the car. It will be a collectable.

I don't know how you compare a two seat roadster to a 5 passenger saloon though. Why do people drop 200 grand for an Sl65 when they could get an S65? because they want a roadster.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GiN

For US$130K, it doesn't surprise me that thing didn't sell very well. I'm sure people would much rather have that 12-cylinder BMW 7 series if they really needed to spend that kind of money.

Yeah because the Z8 and the 7 series have so much in common :rolleyes:

I got the chance to oogle one up close and personal a few years ago... I was with my friends in the middle of nowhere in Wi. at a shooting range shooting trap, just about everyone there was toothless and rather white trash like. So we walk out to the parking lot (more like a patch of grass that had been cut a little shorter than the rest) when we were done and there is a beautiful Z8 sitting there. It's a stunning car in person, nothing garish or over the top, just classic styling and smooth sexy lines.

I have driven the car. Looks better on its resume than in real life. BMW has and will make better cars. Sorry I cannot be part of the Blue Eyes amen chorus on this one...

No need to apologize, can't please everyone. If you were getting a roadster for 150k or less, what would it be?

I'd get an S2K then spend the rest of the money on other cars :)

I am assuming cabriolet for around $128K: 996TT Cab, used 355, used Bentley, Merc SL AMG, new corvette conv. with enough left over for a Z06 (looked awesome at NAIAS). Maserati convertible is not bad either. None of these will likely be great investments but as you know I don't look to cars as investments.

Timeless convertibles: XK150 drophead, 190SL, Jag E-type, Maserati Ghibli Spyder, Lancia Aurelia B24 Spider, Lotus Elan, Porsche 550 Spyder....

Quote:

Originally Posted by IkeWRX

Yeah because the Z8 and the 7 series have so much in common :rolleyes:

I understand the sarcasm now. :p I wasn't really thinking in the mindset of someone who actually can afford a car like that. In that particular price bracket, it is "want" that takes precedence over "what can be afforded" when it comes to choosing a car. In my own car buying experience, it's been "I like the RX-8, but for a few grand more I can get a Mercedes..."

Ah, That was the last BMW Bond car before he switched back to Aston, and the only one with a pretty unmemorable cameo in the movie too, just a few normal driving shots before being sawed in half by a lumber saw.

Saw 2 of those on my trip to Dubai.

Its meant to be a classic status symbol more than anything, hence the unrealistic pricing.

Personally, as with the opinions of most people here, I wont buy it... not now or not till I got a gazzilion dollars to spare. Its a very very pretty car. Maybe 20 years down the road, if I ever saw one of those in the second hand market with say 30% of the value, Ill reconsider.

Very beautiful car though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by himitsu

I thought it was just the regular old Z3 that was the Bond car as well as a 750i , I don't remember the Z8 being in any of the movies.

It was in "The World Is Not Enough"

The Z8 was in the "The World is Not Enough". The Z3 was in Goldeneye and 750 was in "Tomorrow Never Dies". I remember when I first saw the Z8 I was like dayum--and the owner was like dayum at my FD. Gave me a nice compliment. Of note the last year of the 'Z8' was available as an automatic fitted with the less powerful V8 from the 540i vs. the M5 V8 in the original Z8. The automatic Z8 was named Alpina Roadster. The Z8 was intended as a collectors item from its inception and a 3 (?) year product run was all that was slated. I've seen a couple of em here in Houston.