I didn’t want to give it back. I simply wanted to turn around and race away with it. I was standing in front of the gate of factory 0.1 of the BMW Group in Munich, and I could just imagine the headlines in the daily press: “Hamburg Journalist steals test car. Munich-based car manufacturer offers ransom of more than £ 70,000”.
Feel like Steve McQueen just for once
The readers would ask themselves, why the devil would a journalist want to steal a test car.
And rightly so, as a “normal” test car would never make me want to risk anything that might put me behind bars. “Why are you doing time, anyway?” “Nicked a Volkswagen.” “How crazy, if anything is worth nicking, then it is at least a Z8.” Exactly, and the moment has now arrived, namely the opportunity of a real-time road movie, the chance to feel like Steve McQueen just for once. For once to be chased by the police along the roads in Germany, with squealing tyres waking up the town centre in Cologne at four o’clock in the morning or stirring up the Düsseldorf “KÖ” boulevard at midday. People would stare from their windows and gasp: “What’s going on there? Someone’s stolen a Z8. The police are trying to catch him, but the BMW is just too fast.“ Cool. I would be a hero. No, we would be heroes. The Z8 and I.
Test drive, not with me!
So just what has happened? What is so special about the Z8 that it fills the mind of a “highly respectable” journalist with such wild and crazy ideas? After all, a test drive is not an adventure but a routine, even uninspiring event. The vehicle is exposed to various driving situations, such as the motorway, country roads, braking test, acceleration and so on. This was at least the basic plan. After all, we wish to convey our readers as objective an impression as possible of the candidate. Factual? Routine? Emotionless? Anything but – the Z8 totally thwarted our plans. Just as if he wanted to say: “I am not built for emotionless, factual, routine driving. And I won’t let myself be tested, either. If anything, I am to be experienced. And that’s that!”
A word about the engine
OK, then, no test drive. Nevertheless, we still have to lose a few words talking about the technology and performance. Let’s start with the engine. The M5 is virtually the surrogate mother. Its engine is fitted inside the Z8 and generates a staggering 294 kW (400 HP). Since the Z8 is around 200 kilos lighter than the M5, the acceleration rates are significantly lower than those of the saloon. 0.4 seconds to be precise. In other words, the first test rating reads: the Z8 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in precisely 4.9 seconds. Hello Ferrari, hello Porsche. To keep up with the BMW Z8, you’ll have to bring out your best horse, sorry, your best stallion from the stables.
In other words, if one wanted to issue the Z8 with a certificate regarding its engine performance, this would look roughly as follows:
In terms of engine performance, the BMW Z8 performed as follows:
Acceleration: from standstill it accelerated to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds.
From 0 to 180 km/h it required 13.8 seconds. Grade: super athlete
Torque: the Z8 reaches a maximum torque of 500 Nm at 3800 rpm. Grade: very good, with a star.
Summary: in terms of engine performance, the BMW Z8 lies well above the average and has made the grade with flying colours.
Another word or two about the engine
With all the love of technology, with all the enthusiasm for performance figures and mathematical formulae, the Z8 is a racing car. As soon as the accelerator pedal is pressed down, the driver is forced back into the leather seat. This Bavarian roadster knows no bounds. And since both the driver behind the wheel and the passenger in the passenger seat can sit in a surprising amount of comfort with plenty of room, a short and hard depression of the accelerator pedal produces an immediate experience. Not to mention the background noise the BMW generates. This “sound”- which GTI drivers desperately and unsuccessfully strive to achieve in months of tinkering – is supplied ex works. The engine inside the Z8 roars and drones as you’ve never heard before. “Sounds like a really meaty roadster”, comes the call from the passenger seat. “Spot on”, I yell back and select third gear.
What a beauty
Handsome? The Z8 is not handsome. The Z8 is a feast for the eyes, a head turner and an eye catcher. No sooner have I left the factory gates in Munich, than the first heads start to turn around. Headline of the day: “Munich orthopaedic specialists were delighted by the unusually high number of patients last Wednesday. The alleged culprit was a blue BMW Z8, that was seen driving through the streets of Munich, and which caused almost everyone who saw it to turn their heads.” And this brings us to the next rating:
In terms of design/external appearance, the BMW Z8 achieved the following:
Feedback in town locations: numerous unsolicited calls from passers-by.
Feedback on motorways: was frequently responsible for hectic braking manoeuvres because drivers wanted to get a closer look: “Look over there, a Z8”.
Feedback when stationary: “Now where did we park the Z8?” “Over there, where all the people are standing around a car!”
An open word about the soft top
“Roadsters have to be driven open, even if it’s raining”. This is true, in most cases, at least. Not every roadster has adequate heating or offers those driving in it a seating position sheltered from the wind and rain. But the Z8 does. At around 10 degrees Celsius, with a slight drizzle (real roadster drivers call this damp air) and cruising at a speed of 130, we feel snug and cosy. Gene Kelly blares out “I’m singing in the rain”, and we sing along. Now for the rating:
In terms of open-top driving, the BMW Z8 fares as follows:
Opening the top: very good to good (press the button, wait 25 seconds, fasten canvas cover, ready).
Closing the top: remove the canvas cover, press the button, wait 25 seconds, ready.
Retro crazy or what?
Anyone for history? “The BMW 507 is one of the icons of the 50s – only 252 copies of this, a masterpiece by the designer Albrecht Graf Goertz, were ever produced”. Jürgen Lewandowski, one of the most famous German car journalists, expressed exactly what all enthusiasts feel when he wished the Z07, as the prototype of the Z8 was known, onto the road. “With the Z07 prototype, BMW had at long last produced a large convertible again, which, thanks to its powerful 400 HP 5-litre engine, followed in tracks of the legendary BMW 507”. And we don’t want to contradict him.
And what about the price?
There are some questions you just don’t ask. If they are asked, however, there can only be one answer: “It offers outstanding value for money. The Z8 is worth every mark, and, if you wish to experience it, you have two possible choices. Firstly, you can read my report, or secondly, you force me to get out by threatening me with a weapon. But hurry up, because I am just toying with the idea of absconding with this car”.
