New Special Edition BMW Z8 to Offer Automatic and Less Power
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| Few cars are as animalistic as the BMW Z8. Its snarling exhaust emits the bark of a 394-hp V8, capable of reaching 100 km/h in only 4.7 seconds. While not the fastest on the block, the Z8 is one of the nicest to drive quickly. |
Probably the only time most of us will ever see a BMW Z8 roadster is when watching one get sawed in half in the 1999 James Bond flick 'The World is Not Enough' - sacrilege!.
Now that BMW has officially announced the gorgeous roadster will be phased out in 2003 it will become an even rarer sighting. Why is it on its way to pasture? It may have lasted slightly longer if sales were more brisk - the initial 11 months of 2002 saw only 495 units leaving BMW of North America showrooms, 43% less than the same amount of time last year. In total 970 Z8s sold in all of 2001 and 317 sold in only 5 months of 2000.
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| Will BMW build another supercar? Their first was the superb M1, a lightweight, wonderfully balanced mid-engine coupe featuring the now legendary 6-cylinder M engine. Replacing the race winning CSL coupe, BMW employed the talents of Giorgio Giugiaro of Ital Design for its styling while construction and manufacturing was headed by Lamborghini. BTW, Andy Worhal did the paintjob on this Group 4 race-spec version that placed 6th overall in the 1979 Le Mans 24 Hours. |
All said BMW of North America spokesman Dave Buchko told Automotive News, "We're not disappointed with the sales. On the contrary, we were really pleased with the reaction to the car and the demand it experienced. It was never intended to run for the typical life cycle of our other cars." He went on to say, "The Z8 was never intended to be a high-volume car."
If this is indeed accurate BMW met their target, selling only 1,782 Z8s in just slightly less than 2½ years of production.
So why would a company as bottom line focused as BMW produce a car that is no doubt a money pit, even at its $195,000 price point? It's all about image. Just like Jaguar has its XKR, Dodge has its Viper and Ferrari has its Enzo, BMW has pulled a lot of credence to its other products based on the Z8 halo car.