2003 BMW Z8 Alpina Roadster V8
- One of only 555 Alpina models to be built
- Only 20,000 miles from new
- Comes with factory-supplied hardtop
| YEAR | 2003 |
| MAKE | BMW Alpina |
| PRICE | £ Please Ask |
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION
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MODEL HISTORY
BMW’s E52 project first broke cover at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show as the Z07 concept, a spectacular homage to the 1950s 507 that was designed by Henrik Fisker as part of a team working under Chris Bangle.
It subsequently went into production as the Z8 with very little in the way of visual changes. Based around an aluminium spaceframe, it was assembled in Dingolfing before being finished in Munich, and was powered by the 4.9-litre V8 engine from the contemporary E39 M5. This produced just under 400bhp and drove through a six-speed manual gearbox.
Performance was predictably strong, with a number of period road-testers managing to better the factory’s official 0-60mph time of 4.7 seconds. Its top speed was limited to 155mph.
The suspension comprised MacPherson struts and lower wishbones at the front, with a five-link set-up at the rear. The brakes, meanwhile, were taken from BMW’s 750i.
The Scott Lempert-designed interior continued the retro theme, with plenty of brushed aluminium on display and a sweeping dashboard that had all the instruments placed in the centre, angled slightly towards the driver. Electrically operated leather seats, sat-nav and air-con were all standard.
In total, 5703 Z8s were built between 1999 and 2003, with the majority of them going to the USA. The model coincided with James Bond’s BMW phase and a Z8 appeared in The World Is Not Enough, and over the years its stock has steadily risen as one of the most attractive ‘retro’ designs of the 1990s and early 2000s.