That this car was ever built, is amazing enough. That there could be 8000 copies, already borders on a miracle. But the real insanity is that it was BMW boards that decoys the thing. When a certain Ulrich Bez, at that time head of the BMW subsidiary Technik GmbH, presented them with the sound model of a small plastic roadster in 1986, there was an icy silence at first. But Bez punched his toy. Yes, exactly! That Bez, who appears today as Mister Aston Martin. It was not just the fact that here a plastic skin should be screwed onto a separate steel chassis for BMW standards of the time.
Even more daring were the so-called doors - vertical bulkheads that disappear at the push of a button in the side sills. Bez: "Not even the inventors could imagine that the sliding door would be ready for series production." They did so and secured the Z1 a prominent place in the cabinet of curiosities in automotive history. A one-time thing so. But that does not surprise, because most of us should already have problems to get into the Z1 at all. Sit on the sill, carefully thread your legs in, then drop them inside - that's the novice sequence.
Compact size, set-back engine, the new Z rear axle, as they did afterwards in the 3er series, to a super-precise steering - on the other hand, the later Z3 looks like a felt slipper. And the Z4 like a blown flounder. In the front, the 2.5-liter six-cylinder purrs from the contemporary 325i - pleasant and robust, but even then not the fittest. With around 1.2 tonnes, the Z1 is heavier than it looks. Therefore, not a few Z1 buyers went to the tuner for the first time: 2.7-liter-enlarged models with around 200 hp are not uncommon. Amazing how it runs then - but that's exactly what fits to this guy.
A Z1 offers exactly what's on the pack, real roadster pleasure. Which sports car is allowed to drive with opened doors? But that's not the only charm of the BMW classic car. The Z1 is so agile and curvy, that he even reprimands the sports driver of today respect. Add to this his civilized manners: The comfort is neat, even tall people find enough space, and the six-cylinder provides sophisticated background music. Good to know: The Z1 has the makings of a long-term car. Plastic body plus galvanized steel chassis - it does not rot so fast. Disadvantage? A few more hp could not hurt.
The good news: The danger of being left dry with a broken Z1 is very low. BMW guarantees a largely complete supply of spare parts, which of course is also urgently necessary, because the usual sources of 80s cars fail here: The donor organ donor does not exist. Exceptions to the rule. Engine and transmission are identical to the 3 Series (E30). Less nice. With drugstore prices can be expected.
More than a small series was never intended for the Z1. Therefore, the lover status was already innate. As a result, a high percentage of production survived to this day. The offer is therefore stable, but the same is true for the demand, which has a corresponding effect on the prices: Under 20,000 euros, a good Z1 is not to have, little run late issues are 30,000 euros. By the way, the most common color is "Toprot", followed by "Dream Black" and "Urgrün".
A must be as always Completed checkbook, visible good care, even bodywork columns, original BMW roof must be to justify the upper price range. But also important: The doors must work perfectly, must not have any suspicious scratches. And the timing belt for the operation should have been exchanged before. Repairs in this area are expensive. Incidentally, the timing belt of the engine is also due every four years.
