The first Z1 was revealed in 1986 and later officially presented at the 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show. The motoring press had certainly not seen anything like it.
Initial demand was so fierce that BMW had 5,000 orders before production began. But it appeared that BM fans had second thoughts about the Z1 and demand dropped significantly around 1988 and BMW ended production in 1991. The BMW Z1 was designed over a three-year period by an in-house division of BMW Technik GmbH.
I understand that BMW planned a 4x4 version but this did not see the light of day
The BMW Z1 was very much a development model for new technology and the sophistication of some of the BMWs we drive today owe a lot to this advanced little sports number. The Z in Z1 originally stood for Zukunft - German for future - and was later to be used on other cars in the line including the Z3 and Z4 roadsters.
The Z1 featured removable body panels, continuously zinc welded seams, a composite undertray in addition to the unusual drop doors. Parts of the car - including the engine, gearbox, and front suspension - were borrowed from the BMW E30 325i, but the rest of the Z1 was largely original. The body was made from a number of different types of plastic and could be removed completely from the chassis.
A much publicised factor was the intention to make available body panel sets in different colours in order that owners could actually change the colour of the car. However, there was much dispute over the complexity of this operation. Some said it took a few hours and one source states it would take a skilled technician two days.
But if you got really tired of the colour, the car could actually be driven with all of the panels completely removed, but there could be legal and road safety problems with such drastic action.
The car was painted in a flexible lacquer and always looked very well finished. The 2.5 12-valve SOHC engine sat tilted 20 degrees to the right. It produced 170bhp but there were some moans that the Getrag gearbox was not well-matched to the engine. The rear suspension was also interesting, using a system called the Z Axle. This was designed for the Z1 and made the car one of the first BMWs to feature a multi-link design.
The majority of Z1s were sold in Germany but I was lucky enough to drive one in the UK at a BMW event in the late 1980s.
It was a strange beast with `camouflage-effect' seats and looked quite military. But on the road it was a sparkler and was a showcase of what advanced high-tech handling was all about.
I had driven to the event in a Saab 9000 and when I returned home, the Saab, although an advanced car for its day, felt positively mundane after the amazing Z1.
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