Having driven many high-performance cars over the years, my best instinct is to keep a calm and collected right foot for the 'getting to know you' part of the man/machine relationship. Fortunately, it doesn't take too many starts and stops to realize that this supercar is as easy to tame as a 3-Series.
It doesn't take too long for me to lose any trace of maturity either, as the Z8 begins to take hold on my soul. Slipping the precision 6-speed manual into 1st gear and letting out the well modulated self-adjusting clutch (SAC), I give the burbling V8 a little more fuel. Whoa! Speed comes on so rapidly that the hair on the back of my neck can't even stand up for the G-forces pushing it back. The entire experience is exhilarating to say the least.
The Z8's engine puts out a tire smoking 394-hp and 369 lb ft of torque, making the 1,615 kg roadster wickedly fast from either standing or rolling start. What's more, 85% of available torque comes on at a low 1,500 rpm. The 5.0-L, DOHC, 32-valve V8 comes compliments of the BMW M team, derived from the awesome M5 sedan. The S62 powerplant - that originates from the M62 unit that motivates the 540 sedan - features an infinitely variable, map-controlled double VANOS valve timing system matched to electronically controlled, individual drive-by-wire throttle butterflies that are able to respond to driver input within 120 milliseconds. Furthermore, the engineers developed a clever dry-sump system to make sure that adequate oil supplies the engine while undergoing extreme G-forces, consisting of pressure and extraction pumps placed strategically where oil is needed.