BMW Z3 2.8 Roadster

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

Launched in 1996 and staying in production until 2002, the Z3 was BMW’s first modern mass-market roadster and was designed very much with the American market in mind.

Beautifully styled by Joji Nagashima in BMW’s Californian design studio, it had more than a whiff of the WW2 fighter plane about it, with an aggressively flared bonnet sporting chromed side vents that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a Messerschmitt ME109.

Initially powered by a 138bhp 1.9-litre 4-cylinder engine, it was soon clear that the chassis could handle a lot more poke and from 1997, BMW’s 193bhp all-alloy 24-valve 2.8-litre straight-six was dropped in, to the delight of the sporting driver. This gave the car sparkling performance, launching it to 60mph in just 6.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 140mph. To help manage all this power, automatic traction and stability control came as standard, together with air bags and all the luxuries you would expect in a BMW (air con, power operated soft top, leather etc.).

This September 1997 car has the more aggressive ‘wide body’ styling and has covered only 76,200 miles in the hands of five owners. Always properly maintained, it has no fewer than 11 stamps in the book, the last at 69,431 miles, with a sheaf of supporting invoices and virtually all old MOTs to warrant the mileage. A new clutch kit was fitted only 11,000 miles ago and the electric hood functions as it should.

The black and tan interior looks most appealing, while chrome highlights on the gearstick, steering wheel and instrument bezels lend a pleasingly retro touch. Retaining all its original handbooks, two sets of keys, the original (complete) toolkit and wheel changing kit, it is said to drive as a BMW should and is MOTd until November 2015. Although petrol is now cheaper than it has been for years, bidders may still be pleased to know that the onboard computer was recording 34mpg on the occasion of our visit. Not bad for a car with close to 200bhp.

These smooth and powerful Z3s are wonderful cars to drive and are just as happy pottering round town as they are ripping up the tarmac on an invigorating cross country blast. This clean and tidy example looks like a lot of fun for a very modest outlay.