4 photos
Back in the very early Aughts, BMW decided it was going to take a big swing and make itself a sports car. Not just a sporty two-door like the Z3 — an honest-to-God sports car, something capable of holding its own against the top-shelf Porsche 911s and entry-level Ferraris of its day. The BMW Z8 took the drivetrain of the era’s M5 — a naturally-aspirated, 394-hp V8 and a six-speed manual — and slotted it into one of the sexiest retro-styled roadsters ever to grace the streets. A supporting role in a James Bond movie was all it took to cement it into the minds of the world’s auto-loving youth.
Sadly, the Z8 wasn’t quite as appreciated back then as perhaps it should have been. These days, though, with nearly two decades of hindsight (and the automotive canonization of its E39 M5 powertrain donor), the delightfully-analog Z8 is catching fire on the used car market. As such, it’s not all that surprising that the bidding on this picture-perfect example on Bring a Trailer is already well into the six figures withtime left on the clock on the auction.
We can’t blame those interested parties, though. Of the 2,543 Z8s were ever brought over to the U.S., they were split between five different factory colors — and by our estimation, none of the other four were the match of this car’s Topaz Blue Metallic. That beautiful color even stretches inside the car, covering the parts that aren’t either silver or cream-colored leather. The matching hard top that can be snapped into place also comes in that elegant shade, and has been the recent recipient of a headliner replacement, to boot.
In spite of being 19 years old, this Z8 has just 13,000 miles on it, which means its leather isn’t the only thing reminiscent of a cream puff. Between that low mileage, its clean history and impeccable condition, it’s no surprise that it’s already up to $128,000 as of this story’s writing — just a couple grand of its original MSRP of $130,745. And with three days to go, we’re fairly confident it’ll climb far higher before the auction is done.
