The BMW Z1 Is Still A Design Mastercass

Can we take a moment please to appreciate the sheer brilliance that was the BMW Z1? It’s largely forgotten now, at least by the masses. But then, the car-building powerhouse that is BMW only made 8,000 of them, and they were all left-hand drive, so we can forgive folk for maybe letting it slip from their memory. To be honest, it wasn’t exactly at the forefront of ours until we consigned one here on Car & Classic Auctions. But we’re not here to talk exclusively about that one (though you can view that 1991 BMW Z1 here), we’re here to look at the car in a broader sense and celebrate it’s sheer brilliance.

Of course, brilliance is subjective in this context. If you want a car for the multi-child school run, this ain’t it. Need to move a washing machine? Keep browsing. If, however, you want a world class two-seater roadster that makes driving fun, raw, visceral and electric (in an emotional sense – it has an engine) the BMW Z1 is it. Light, responsive, well built and with looks that still cut a dash today, it really is worthy of BMW’s ‘ultimate driving machine’ moniker. A thumping 2.5 straight-six up front, a Getrag 260 5-speed manual and power sent to the rear wheels. Perfection.

The BMW Z1 can be traced back to 1985, when the company set up its BMW Technik GmbH division. The purpose of this was to operate as a visible, viable skunkworks of sorts. Engineers could create, refine and explore concept and technology ideas. The Z1 was indeed one of those concepts, albeit one that got – thankfully – somewhat out of hand. This car wasn’t planned as a production model. It was an experiment, a what if, a flight of concept car fancy. But, as the design moved on, as external partners made ideas possible (bespoke plastic body, unique flexible lacquer etc) the car got closer and closer to production. Even those incredible drop down doors were signed off. Lead designer, Harm Lagaay, nailed it.

The other thing that made the BMW Z1 a viable production car was the running gear. It was largely E30. BMW only offered the Z1 with the M20B25 engine and Getrag 5-speed. The front suspension came from an E30 325i. The rear was a new development called the Z Axle; a multi-link design that offered supreme stability and traction. Aha, you might think, a bespoke axle must have cost a fortune to develop. And indeed it did, but while the Z1 was it’s first outing, it would go on to be used in the E36 3 Series, thus making it viable for production.

Then there’s the body. You know how we said external partners made it viable? Well, that’s true. Firstly, BMW made every body panel removable, as you can see above. The side panels and the doors were made of GE’s strong, resistant but light Xenoy Thermoplastic, while the rest were GRP care of Seger + Hoffman AG. But you can’t just paint that, so instead, the paint was protected by a coat of then newly-developed flexible lacquer created by AKZO Coatings and BMW itself. Teamwork really does make the dream work. BMW was very proud of its removable body design, and as such encouraged people to buy another set in another colour so they could change it as and when. 40 minutes, said BMW. That’s all it takes. It did not. But still, a lovely idea.

As for the BMW Z1’s most captivating feature – the doors – there’s more to know. The doors in the Z1 drop down into the sills via a bespoke mechanism. It’s neat to see them work, but it’s not just an aesthetic thing. By having the sills come up so high, it made the Z1 remarkably strong in the case of a side impact – an area in which all cars, even today, struggle to deal with. Of course, getting in and out took practice, but it was worth it. It was also worth it during a drive, as the doors could be lowered while in motion, which really capitalised on the notion of open motoring. Wind in your hair, and your thighs. Exhilarating.

BMW only built 8,000 Z1s. It could have built more, but instead the company opted to let the Z1 be a bit of magic, something short and sweet that would go down in history with nothing but – as evidenced here – fond words to follow it. BMW did what many car manufacturers are afraid to do, even today. It answered the ‘what if?’. The Z1 could have been a concept, nothing more, nothing less. The coupe version only got that car. But instead, despite it being barely profitable, BMW built it and let us have that magic for real. It was lightning in a bottle. It was bold, brave, different, captivating and most importantly of all, fun. And that’s why you’re going to look at the listing for the 1991 BMW Z1 pictured above and ponder the joys of chucking in a bid, right? Be like BMW. Answer the ‘what if?’.