BMW Z8 review. Why BMW's modern classic makes more sense today than it did when new.

with all due respect didnt the looks blow u away? ???? for 3 stars.....Isaw 1 in real....wow in real...certainly better in the flesh I cant forget that

IT AIN'T PERFECT. IT'S FAR FROM AWFUL.

By far the best looking bmw ever

Amazing car and honest to say you didn't got it back in the days. I always wonder how those that navigation system works with a screen?

Harry: 'This is a 7 out of 10 car...' Me: 'I have always been a 7 out of 10 driver.' I'm with you at the end: this is a characterful automobile. It always WAS fine for a sensible gentleman who wanted a bit of open-air fun.

La mano thats right

Loved everything about this car when they first came out, apart from the headlights looking like BMW had a rummage through the Porsche parts bin.

So interesting and nice to see how Henrik Fisker designed his own cars with the looks of his previous work (the Z8).

Jesus. I just looked on auto trader… cheapest is £125k…
why the fuck would you spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on this compared to buying possibly several Ferraris/lambos or just an amazing 1 of those?!?!

beautiful. noted that due to the centre dials there is no off set on the steering wheel.

Most beautiful BMW.

This car is astonishingly beautiful! Saw one yesterday and couldn't stop admiring it!

These same motor journalists loath it when it first came. Now they are loving it.

Part of what makes you look at it more favorably all these years later is the current state of car design.

So basically your original mag summary was wildly incorrect.

You can't live without bragging around about your wealth and the things you own. You should dedicate your time to your soul, not rich boy's toys.

I have never understood the appeal of having the gages in the centre of the dash. It is ghastly ergonomics. Gages belong in front of the driver. Full stop. Doing these kinds of desgins just to be different smaks of lack of imagination and poor understanding of the relationship between the driver and the vehicle, which companies like Porsche have developed to a fine art. also the mix of finishes seem intended to shock, but I find the result very off putting. Pity, as it is otherwise a nice body design. Great car design is all about simplicity and useability, like the Jaguar E type or the Lamorghini Miura.

Why admit that you'd go the shape of this beauty wrong and then back track. Was even slating the car throughout...

Z8 is a masterpiece love it

Neon taillights? Dang I can't imagine what those cost to replace... beautiful car, I liked these when they came out, but the driving tests weren't very positive at the time.

My favorite sportscar of all time !! Imagine ; from the time it was manufactured it kept increasing value !.

fisker kidnies

Honestly nowadays these kinda cars just seem insane. So bespoke. I doubt any of the tooling is left over too build the body panels and interior panels of this car. We can see where they had to make concessions with the shifter, the wheels, and the dials knowing that it would be a limited run.

Harry - I think you still don’t get the car. It’s not a sports car and was never intended as one (it’s a Z car, not an M car) - it’s a cruiser/tourer and the M5 V8 was perfectly suited to this car. I don’t care that it only had 78bhp/litre - it’s how it performs and sounds and makes you feel. BMW were ahead of their time with this one and you could market it today almost unchanged and it would sell well. I would buy one if they sold it today.

Wish brands made modern classics. A 50s/60s car but new. Everything we like about a classic car but , new. You look at classics; brakes are crap, power is low, rust, worries on Maintanence and reliability, high mileage possibly etc.

Well, all I can say is when you run across one of these (which is not often) the beauty of this car in front of you in real life is stunning. jw

I like it! But it is giving me MX5 vibes 🤔

I've owned the E39 (1999-2003) M5 for 24 years now I guess, with the same engine. I parked a Swiss M5 next to my Supra twin turbo in Zurich in '99 and moved over to a one-year-used UK RHD for London (and then, as work demanded, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Tokyo again). I didn't want two cars with the same engine but I liked having an open car and looked closely at both the Z8 and the SL55, which I'm surprised you didn't mention. It seemed to be the one car that all Z8 buyers at that time would have at least thought about: a buyer who never did a track day, but wanted a fast two-seater but also didn't want the exotic headaches of an Aston or used 550. Nearly all are silver which is a shame given how good the blue ones look. Ultimately, as rare as the Z8 is, my Supra was yet rarer with only 100 or so in all of Europe, apparently. (I NEVER saw another in a decade in Europe.) Dinan had a header-based system to get you from 400HP to 500. The Z8's diff was lower-geared than the M5 which sounds useless as the car has so much torque first gear is hardly needed even in the heavier M5. I'm surprised you're revving up to 5000; I drive almost continuously in the 3000-4000 band. It's too easy and fun to shift, so there's no reason to go higher unless you need yet more power than you've got at 4000rpm--which is never, frankly. I considered the Alpina but the car doesn't need yet bigger wheels. Stock suits it fine. At the time I was convinced it was a modern classic, but the 3/5 star reviews in Evo etc. gave me pause. I ended up with a GT-R when those came out, then switched to a manual F430 spider, the only car I've never gotten a speeding ticket in.

Such a good looking car!!

Porsche Boxster far prettier

I'm surprised people say 400hp wasn't a lot in 2000

Is that James May's dad?

I like the Z8 much more now than I did when I saw one in a dealership when visiting London. Of course I was a bit dazzled at the time having seen a new McLaren F1 on display in another dealership.

The interior and mechanics begs for a tasteful restomod. But the exterior is just PERFECT!

The only thing I never cared for about these was the interior, I absolutely love the leather detailing, but the central gauges and painted dash really threw me off, even today....but man that exterior is still utterly gorgeous, especially the front end..... people always called the old 70s and 80s 6-Series the "Shark Nose"....I always thought this front end was kinda a reimagining of the term..... I'd love to have one, and yes, I'd get the dash and door uppers wrapped in a contrasting leather....I don't care if it would hurt the $200k+ value these now sit at 🤣

I need a garage for my z4.

Would it be possible to marry the taillights?

That blue is really nice

What a dream car. Gorgeous.

My grandpa bought a black one new.

Looking at it driving it reminds me of the Rover/MG RV8...

Peak BMW. Everyone knew it. These were never cheep. The S62 is not a high revving 100hp/L motor, but you could eat off the torque curve, & the throttle response is phenomenal.

This thing has cast iron exhaust manifolds?? That is so… umm wrong, not very BMW. I love this car, looks like they went balls-out on the design, yet before production started the bean counters went into UBER mode, that’s a shame.

Bmw impression of the real icon: AC Cobra 427

Beautiful classic beamer. Today's cars and the price the z8 sits in, you can't compare it at all.

A car designed for romance...down the coast...lunch by the sea...no startling moments for the passenger...she's relaxed...

Prettiest BMW...EVER...

Nerdy like you and me? I could only dream! However, I grew up in West kirby and remember a red fulvia zogato knocking around. Dad even sent me to check out a scimitar in the corner garage...
Small world 👍

I'm trying to think and remember all 3-4 very beautiful cars of the last 20 years .What pass my mind is SLS amg ,Aston Martin DB 9 , Porsche Turbo s 997 Mercedes Mclaren SLR and one two Ferraris .Some of them like the Mercs are modern and futuristic ,but I simply cannot say that any of those is more beautiful by this Z8 .It depends of course on anyone different tastes, but no .This is the most beautifull car made in last 20 years .

This together with Mecedes SLS is undoubtedly the most beautifull cars to come out in last 30 years. There is some other beautifull cars designed, but do not have absolutely originality of this 2 .