BMW Z

The BMW Z models are a line of roadsters manufactured by German automaker BMW. The Z stands for Zukunft (German for future),^[1] and has been produced in four different series with six generations consisting of roadster, coupé, sports car, and concept variants.

The introduction of the M Coupé and M Roadster in the Z3 line marked the first of the Z series to have a high-performance BMW M variant. The first generation Z4 also continued to offer M Coupé and M Roadster variants. The current Z4 (G29) uses BMW's (B58B30) inline-six, its platform is the basis for the current Toyota Supra.^[2]

BMW Z1 (E30 based; 1989–1991)

The BMW Z1 is a two-seat roadster developed by BMW and was produced from March 1989 to June 1991. It was based on the E30 3 Series platform.^[3] The Z1 featured unusual doors which, instead of opening outward or upward, dropped into the door sills and had body panels which could easily be removed and replaced; the car could be driven with all its body panels removed for weight reduction and increased performance.^[4] Only 8,000 examples of the Z1 were produced.^[5]

BMW Z3 (E36/7/8; 1995–2002)

The Z3 was the first modern mass-market roadster produced by BMW.^[6] It was introduced for the 1996 model year shortly after being featured in the James Bond movie GoldenEye. More than 15,000 were sold by the time the car was introduced.^[7] The Z3 underwent a facelift in 1999 with the introduction of a coupé bodystyle and featured revised styling, before the end of its production run in 2002.^[8] The coupé had controversial styling and was nicknamed as "clown shoe".^[9] It was manufactured and assembled in Spartanburg, South Carolina.^[10]

BMW Z8 (E52; 2000–2003)

The Z8 was produced from 2000 to 2003 and was the production variant of the 1997 Z07

The first-generation BMW Z4 was known as the E85 in

The Z4's design addressed many criticisms of the preceding Z3; it was larger and featured a significantly stiffer chassis.^[15] The Z4 was initially only available as a roadster, but a coupé version was officially launched in 2006.^[16] The last model was manufactured on 27 August 2008 at the Spartanburg plant.^[17]

BMW Z4 (E89; 2009–2016)

The second-generation Z4 was announced on 13 December 2008^[18] and debuted at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit the following month.^[19] It is the first Z Series model to use a retractable hardtop and meant that there were no longer separate roadster and coupé versions of the car.^[20] The top is made of a two-piece lightweight aluminium shell and takes 20 seconds to operate.^[21] Manufacturing was moved from Spartanburg, United States to Regensburg, Germany.^[22]

BMW Z4 (G29; 2018–present)

The G29 Z4 is the third and current generation Z4 and was unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on 23 August 2018.^[23] It reuses the soft-top convertible roof found on the E85 Z4 instead of a retractable hardtop which now takes 10 seconds for operation. The G29 Z4 shares its platform with the J29 Toyota Supra and is manufactured in the same plant in Austria.^[24]

Production and sales

The following are the production and sales figures for Z models, excluding the Z1:^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

Z9 Concept (1999)

The BMW Z9 (or Z9 Gran Turismo) is a

• List of BMW vehicles

References