What's My Color?

**macfly** · September 23rd 2006, 22:32

Here is a full list of the colors that our car was manufactured in as an active poll, so we can see who has what with a simple click on the votes.

NB: The Alpina Blue signature color Alpina's that were sold in Canada and the EU are counted as Individual colors as those chassis were all prepared by BMW Individual before being shipped to Alpina.

**macfly** · September 23rd 2006, 22:49

This is a very rare combo that many of us would have loved to have had available here, this is one of only 12 like it in the world! There are some shots of the only known US VIN one in the Gallery.

**macfly** · September 23rd 2006, 22:52

One of only 16 like it in the world. I have only seen this combo once before and it was also on EBay many moons ago, that one also had a tan soft top as I remember.

**macfly** · September 23rd 2006, 23:16

Evie in Canada was lucky enough to find one of the only 5 Individual Z8's that had a US VIN number in Midnight Blue Metallic and Arizona Sun interior.

It is also worth noting that during her search for the right car the owner of this one also discovered that there were 6 Individual Alpina Blue & Crema Alpinas shipped to Canada.

The first set on pix are from the time the car was purchased, the second set were done in Monterey, and show the color in full sunlight. There is also another set of pix of this car in the Gallery..

**Norcal** · September 27th 2006, 03:23

Just wondering

**macfly** · September 27th 2006, 05:44

the total for all the cars is 5702, which is exactly what the run was. It means that the Alpina's are included, but the roughly 25 Alpina Blue cars are included in the 124 BMW Individual cars.

**macfly** · November 28th 2006, 02:08

Not sure if this car that is for sale at Bentley of Long Island is a BMW Individual car or not, but this two tone leather is very much in the style of BMW Individual's work as you can see in the pix from EBay.

**2112** · November 30th 2006, 06:11

Very nice. How did you manage to get this combination? Luck or special order?

**fun2drive** · November 30th 2006, 20:01

My interest in the Z8 began early summer 2003. Since it was nearing the end of production, there were only a few units remaining. My dealership found an Alpina in Ontario that I missed by a day. It was one of 6 Alpina Blue with Crema interior Individual Alpina's brought to Canada.

I began to panic & didn?t care about features or color any more. That week my sales manager had a conference stateside, where he learned that there were a few more Z8?s in Canada, just arrived. When I saw the showroom pic above, I jumped at the opportunity! My first impression was that it was too dark, but when I saw it in person, my heart melted . . . it was love at first sight!
So, in answer to your question - yes it was sheer luck! No special order.

I was doubly-lucky since it also happens to be an Individual BMW, as Macfly brought to my attention. Judging from the individual label, I believe that there were 5 identical cars shipped to Canada, but only 4 had been plated as of Sept/06. I assume that the unregistered one is in a private collection.

I?ll speak for mine alone - from what I have managed to piece together, it was built at BMW as a Z8 & finished in May 2003. It had been sent to Individual to complete the interior upholstery & carpets. The car was prepped for Canada by July 2003, as per the driver door label date-stamp. I assume the other 4 cars to be the same, but cannot know for sure.

Sorry for the long post,
Evie

**macfly** · December 12th 2006, 13:23

First is an Alpina Blue Alpina with a custom Alpina interior. Although this body color wasn't available in the USA, six like it went to Canada. It was an option on the 105 EU spec cars, which could also be ordered in any of the five Z8 colors. This blue is very close to BMW's Topaz, but with a slightly more lilac hue and a much higher metal flake content in the paint. This is their signature color often seen on their big saloons in the EU, and was also the color of the Alpina Roadster in Alpina's brochure.

Second is a white car that was completely stripped and resprayed by a dealer in Germany who specializes doing custom colors on cars he is selling. The respray includes the chassis, as you can see under the hood, so this was quite an undertaking.

**NYZ8** · December 18th 2006, 05:10

Originally Posted by fun2drive

I?ll speak for mine alone - from what I have managed to piece together, it was built at BMW as a Z8 & finished in May 2003. It was then sent to Alpina to complete the interior upholstery & carpets. Evie

Very interesting, so individual color cars were finished by Alpina even if the car is not an Alpina?

Robert
NYZ8

**Kuyu** · December 18th 2006, 06:55

I don't know how close BMW and Alpina are, but BMW Individual and Alpina are not connected in a permanent way. So it is probably just sucontracted work.
Klaus

**macfly** · June 4th 2007, 03:03

On the subject of color here is a direct comparisson between BMW's Topaz Blue, in the forground in the top picture, and Alpina's own signature Blue, which has more metal flake in it, so shows the contours of the car much better than the rather flat Topaz. The Alpina Blue was only an option in the EU, but six were sent to Canada. I am not sure how many Alpina Blue cars were made in total but I'd guess around twenty.

**thegunguy** · June 4th 2007, 03:40

Further trivia...the Alpina Blue car is car 554 from the Villa d'Este lunch stop, your first pic. If you remember, Andreas drove the B6 cab to Villa d'Este (what a beast). The charming Burkhard Bovensiepen brought 555 to the Milla Miglia this year. 555 is Alpina Blue with Crema interior. See pics I took at Riva of 555. I do think Andraes owned 554, but it has since been sold to Club member Peter Haenisch.

Alpina Blue/blue = 554
Alpina Blue/crema = 555

**Norcal** · November 28th 2007, 03:33

Looking this list over it occurs to me (after 6 years of ownership)....How many of us "ordered" our cars in the color combo of our choice, and how many took what they found? In 2001 I saw a black and crema on the showroom floor and fell in love. That car belonged to the dealership owner and was not for sale so they tried to sell me another car. Finally they called me and said they had one coming in a few days later, that BMW "dropped in their lap" that was Black & Crema...I bought it. If I had known what all the other color options were, I may have chosen differently, but maybe not. Just curious.

**macfly** · November 28th 2007, 04:23

I tried really hard to get a Stratus/Crema-Black, but couldn't find one, so stayed with Silver/Black for the first three Z8's I owned. I love black, but promised I'd never own another black car after the pains of keeping my old Black/Black/Chrome SL560 clean!

If Stratus/Red or Midnight-Blue/Saddle had been options I think I would have fought harder to get one of them, as they are both really spectacular. Another one I've always wanted to see is the BMW Individual Carbon Black/Saddle. Several of these are said to be in Germany, and those who have seen them say they are the prettiest Z8's of all.

**jpklecker** · November 29th 2007, 16:06

I originally approached BMW North Scottsdale in Phoenix trying to get a white with crema (and tan top) but was told flat out that there were no special orders for this car, only the color choices listed by the factory. I then optted for topaz / crema with a tan top. The dealer had a used one with a black top and tried to sell it to me with them changing the top to tan, and letting me keep the black one as a spare. Instead I contacted Plam Springs BMW and they were able supply the topaz / crema with a tan top - new. The black with crema interior is a stunning combination.

**Z8doc** · December 5th 2007, 04:35

Originally Posted by Norcal

Looking this list over it occurs to me (after 6 years of ownership)....How many of us "ordered" our cars in the color combo of our choice, and how many took what they found?

but only because I had never actually seen one in person. I was looking to get a Porsche 996 Turbo but just was not quite happy as I really wanted something more unique. I went to my local BMW dealer actually looking at an X5 for the wife and Viola! The sat the Silver with Black/red combo on the showroom floor. It was actually the first one I had seen in person. Love at first sight for the second time in my life (my wife was the first!)

I ordered the X5. The Z8 was prepped for delivery, no sticker. I asked my saleman if it was for sale and he stated it was as the person who had ordered it, had decided to not take delivery. The person in Tulsa was the ex-CEO of Williams Energy Corp. here in Tulsa and Williams was getting ready to lay of 1000 people in the fall of 2002, when this car came in. Williams imploded shortly thereafter in the post-ENRON fallout.

This CEO decided to not take delivery as he felt it was in poor taste to lay off that many people and take delivery of the Z8 at the same time. Bad for him, good for me as I went back to the dealer and bought the Z8 3 days later and... for $5,000 less than MSRP. Although the Silver w/ Black/red combo is not what I might have chosen, it is absolutely the color for me now that I have owned it these past 5 years and... I could not be happier.

Although.... the Stratus / red/black combo and the Midnight Blue / Saddle as Macfly mentions are stunning along with the Topaz/ Creme, or the Black / Creme, or wait a minute, the Black/ red or the Red/ Red or the Silver / Black;... Oh hell, I love them ALL!

**Norcal** · December 5th 2007, 05:29

LOL.......I couldn't agree more!

Z8Mania · January 31st 2008, 14:51

Originally Posted by Z8doc

This CEO decided to not take delivery as he felt it was in poor taste to lay off that many people and take delivery of the Z8 at the same time.

Great for you but better still- here is someone in our jaded day and age who shows some class.

**Juergen Wunderlich** · February 29th 2008, 20:15

Another "individual Z8" seen in 2008 at a BMW dealership in Monaco!

**2112** · March 1st 2008, 00:19

I love the amount of Red! Reminds me of the 1967 Chevelle super sport my parents drove when I was a small kid. Solid red interior, unfortunately white exterior.

I said it before, My fav would be a dark metallic blue exterior and and a full red interior like this one.

**Norcal** · March 3rd 2008, 00:18

Now that's what I'm talking about! Red, red, red! Only one that way I wonder? I'd like it better on Stratus or black.

**riverflyer** · March 13th 2008, 17:16

Can anyone post a pic of one of the two tone cars? Would love to see how that is configured.

And Andrew, I second gutMD's gratitute for a well run site!

**Juergen Wunderlich** · March 13th 2008, 18:41

For sale in Germany at the moment for EURO 189.999 (US $ 294.000). From original owner with just 14.000 km on the clock, one of only eleven built!

also look in the Gallery to see more shots

**macfly** · March 15th 2008, 23:00

Havenhurstkid was the lucky finder of this unique special order car, a 2002 Stratus that was ordered with the red interior. The original owner had to pay a very hefty deposit to persuade his original dealer to order this car, because the dealer though it was a combo that would never sell if the guy walked away from it. This is almost certainly the only US spec in this color combo, the other 11 like it are all thought to be EU VIN cars.

More pictures of it can be see in the Gallery here.

**gutMD** · March 15th 2008, 23:47

Marty,
What an amazing looking combo. One of the finest and right up there with the Navy/Saddle car.
Where did you find it ?
Gary

**hayvenhurstkid** · March 16th 2008, 00:33

I just got lucky. A dealer near San Diego had a Stratus/ Black car for sale on eBay that I called about for a friend of mine. It had 13,000 miles on it. When I told the guy that my friend was looking for a lower mileage car, he said he had a Stratus/Red car with just 5,000 miles on it. I told him we were not looking for a Euro car and he told me is was a U.S. car. I asked him for the VIN and to send me pictures of the car and sure enough, it was a special order 2002 model sold new by Harloff BMW by La Jolla, Ca. I told Andrew about the car and he said "let's get down there!" He said if I didn't buy it, he would. It took me a little bit of time, but I took the dive and bought the car. I love my Silver/Red 01, but this car was just to unique to pass on. It has all the bits and pieces the cars originally came with. I am excited about stumbling on such a find.
And it is absolutely a U.S. car. The last of the VIN is AH61743. Euro cars have AF and their VIN's are in the 77000 and up range.

**///M Blitz** · March 16th 2008, 15:32

Originally Posted by macfly

Havenhurstkid was the lucky finder of this unique special order car, a 2002 Stratus that was ordered with the red interior. The original owner had to pay a very hefty deposit to persuade his original dealer to order this car, because the dealer though it was a combo that would never sell if the guy walked away from it.

Yeah, I can attest to that. When I originally ordered my car, I did not specify a color so I only had to put a $1K refundable deposit. When I got the call from my salesman telling me that color selection time had arrived, I specified Red/Sport Red. Guy calls me back about 15 minutes later and tells that the sales manager wanted a $10K non-refundable deposit because they didn't think that the color combo would sell. He said that if I ordered Silver/Black the $1K deposit was fine, but Red...

**Norcal** · March 16th 2008, 16:58

What year and month was that? Was Stratus an option at that time? Just curious, because with all the hype around the car at that time, cars being offered to the highest bidder etc., you would think there would be no fear of a non or slow sale in any color. If it was in mid to late 01 or later, the market had turned, thus the caution on the dealers part.

Originally Posted by ///M Blitz

Yeah, I can attest to that. When I originally ordered my car, I did not specify a color so I only had to put a $1K refundable deposit. When I got the call from my salesman telling me that color selection time had arrived, I specified Red/Sport Red. Guy calls me back about 15 minutes later and tells that the sales manager wanted a $10K non-refundable deposit because they didn't think that the color combo would sell. He said that if I ordered Silver/Black the $1K deposit was fine, but Red...

**///M Blitz** · March 16th 2008, 19:01

Originally Posted by Norcal

What year and month was that? Was Stratus an option at that time? Just curious, because with all the hype around the car at that time, cars being offered to the highest bidder etc., you would think there would be no fear of a non or slow sale in any color. If it was in mid to late 01 or later, the market had turned, thus the caution on the dealers part.

I placed the order in July of 2002 and chose the color for final production in October of 2002. All the hype had died down by then. My car was built in January of 2003 and "may be" the last US Z8 built.

Stratus was an option, but I wanted the car in red. What really got me started on the Z8 was the connection to the 507, which is my favorite design of all time. I have an original framed sales poster of a 507 and that car is red, so...

**Z8doc** · March 21st 2008, 04:33

Marty, You are one lucky Z8er!! I love that combo! Owner of the silver red like your other, I love the Stratus too, just like Gordini's!

**Kuyu** · March 23rd 2008, 10:56

I just found this one today looking through mobile.de. Not really my choice... don't like the black rims, or the color (although it's awesome on a GT3 RS).
Regards, Klaus

**Kuyu** · March 23rd 2008, 14:45

I reckon it's a respray. Note the black hardtop, indicators and mirrors. Looks like one of those white Z8s that come up for sale here once in a while (same scheme, black/grey alpina wheels, complete respray...)

**Norcal** · March 23rd 2008, 17:25

The "Orange and Black revival" is too recent for the factory have done it nearly 5 years ago. I'de say it's a full respray. I love it on the GT3RS.....HATE it on the Z8.

**2112** · March 23rd 2008, 18:08

Havenhurstkid;

Congrats on the beautiful find. What was the scoop on the unique Boyd Coddington type billet wheels? Are they 18's? Did you keep them? You are a lucky dog and since Andrew has been pining for such a car for some time, it is fortunate he did not run down and scoop it up before you. A true gentleman eh?

**hayvenhurstkid** · March 23rd 2008, 18:23

The wheels that were on the car are available for sale. They are 18's and obviously work on the Z8. The original owner said he had them custom made by a company called Budnik. I looked the up on the web and they are based in Huntington Beach, Ca. I just happen to like the looks of the original wheels so I had them put back on the car. The tire guy said the Budnik's cost something like $4,000 for the set new. I would take $1,500 for all four. The right front and right rear wheel have some very minor curb rash on them. I think it would be a very easy and minor repair. They are made from a single piece of billet aluminum. Andrew is the best. When I told him about the car and asked if he wanted to go look at the car with me, he answered with a resounding yes. I did tell him I had first right of refusal and if I chose not to buy it, it was his to buy. If neither one of us would have bought it, the owner was going to consign it to one of the Pebble Beach auctions this summer. I just got lucky, plain and simple. If you would like to talk about the wheels, feel free to call me at 818 640 7535. Thanks, Marty

**Gammaman** · March 23rd 2008, 19:16

Beautiful car, Havenhurstkid! Stratus/Red was my first choice, had it been available here, I settled for Black/Red instead. I don't remember my dealer telling me that BMW Individual was offered for the Z8. I probably would have felt too guilty anyway about spending the extra dough, as I felt guilty enough just getting the car. Sure glad that I did!

My question is, if this is a USA car, how does it have a red interior (without being a custom order)? I remember pouring over the color combos (for '02), and stratus was only offered with black or crema. Stratus with red was offered in the UK.

**hayvenhurstkid** · March 23rd 2008, 23:01

Black with red is a gorgeous combo on the car. Stratus is not an Individual car. It was a regular Z8 color offered late in the 02 model year. A few 03's, pre-Alpina, were also painted Stratus. The really rare part is the red interior, with only 12 made, although any Stratus car is rare with only 195 or so built worldwide. Although it isn't confirmed 100%, this car is so far the only provable Stratus/Red U.S. model built of the 12 made.

The original owner of this car insisted that he get the red interior, which the dealer did not want to do. He gave them a very large non refundable deposit and got the car. I verified its authenticity before going to look at the car but I also have the original window sticker off of the car saying it was Stratus with premium soft sport Red leather. I don't know how else to explain it, but needless to say, I got right down there and bought it. It was ordered and delivered new through Harloff BMW in Encinitas, Calirornia, which is about forty miles North of San Diego.

**Bend** · March 27th 2008, 23:00

Marty,
That is a beautiful color combo.

I'm sure that you will be keeping it for a long time.
I know that Andrew was thinking that the Alpina wheels - chromed - look good on the Stratus. Have you thought about that?
I'll look forward to seeing you and your new baby at an event, hopefully soon.
Best,
Ted

**hayvenhurstkid** · April 5th 2008, 22:14

So here are some shots of my car taken this morning....

**Lupin** · April 6th 2008, 15:35

Wooooww
And The 600 Too

Luigi

**hayvenhurstkid** · April 6th 2008, 16:39

The 600 is a really amazing car and story to go with it. It is a late 1972, Midnight Blue with a Parchment interior. The original owner bought it in June of 1972 and only put 2,282 miles on the car by the time he passed away in 2005! The interior was still wrapped in the shipping plastic from 1972. The car is completely original; nothing has cosmetically ever been done to the car, just mechanical maintenance. When I drove it yesterday, it turned 3,600 miles. It must be one of the lowest mileage 600's in the world. It truly is a time capsule car.

**Norcal** · June 24th 2008, 02:58

On going back to review the pics of the midnight blue car, it's interesting that all the interior trim that isn't leather, is black (other than metals).

**hayvenhurstkid** · June 24th 2008, 03:16

I agree. I told Andrew that on the Topaz cars, the interior plastic pieces are also painted Topaz to match the exterior of the car. I know the Midnight Blue cars are BMW Individual cars and they are gorgeous, but it would have made more sense to paint the interior pieces in the body color, IMHO.

**gutMD** · June 25th 2008, 16:12

Thanks Rifle.

Martin, I agree. I think the midnight blue abutting the Arizona leather interior would have been striking. Possibly the best interior combo on the planet. Unfortunate they did it in black.

**macfly** · March 22nd 2009, 17:51

This early car (60061) recently came up for sale at Bentley of Long Island. While not my favorite combo it is interesting because there were only 15 made like this worldwide.

**macfly** · March 22nd 2009, 20:01

A 'Google images' assortment of oddities from a Z8 image search!

**Norcal** · March 22nd 2009, 20:49

That Hamann has got to be the worst!

**vzben** · March 23rd 2009, 11:13

First matt black Z8 I've seen in from two different online libraries. http://www.flickr.com/photos/leadheadphoto/3371789195/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/nechan-photo/3371779103/

**macfly** · March 23rd 2009, 14:27

I wonder if it was painted, or it is that plastic film that I'm seeing used to wrap and protect cars? This white Z8 is actually a red car wrapped in white plastic.

**HenryZ8** · March 23rd 2009, 21:00

For sale in Germany, Hamann 9/2000 - 48.750 km. Rare color, totaly red interior, Euro 129.840,--.

**zilver8** · April 21st 2009, 15:15

Did the factory ever produce a white car or is this a repaint? Not sure I like the blacked-out chrome although it seems to work with the wheels.

**macfly** · April 21st 2009, 17:42

The dash shows it was either a black or a red car at birth, and it looks like a plastic wrapping like the Safety Car, something that is very common in the EU where most service cars get wrapped to protect them through the harsh winters.

**zed_eight_eh** · April 22nd 2009, 07:41

I LLLLLOVE the white. I had an Alpine White E39 M5.

**vzben** · April 23rd 2009, 21:28

Here's another matt wrapped Z8: http://tinyurl.com/cszj6x

**macfly** · May 3rd 2009, 08:17

Richard Wharram had Raccoon in London wrap his black 2001 BMW Z8 in a Union Jack before having it shipped to LA for 2008's Gumball 3000. It is seen here at the Gumball HQ in London and also at the D1 GP event in Anahiem, 40 miles south of LA on the first day of the drive.

**Norcal** · May 3rd 2009, 15:37

Cool...and a great way to protect the paint for the trip.

**macfly** · May 3rd 2009, 15:54

Did you check out the Racoon website, I wonder if there could be a market for stuff like this here, I'm not a fan of the flattened Beetle Bug, but I actually really like it all chrome wrapped.

**FWK-Z8** · May 20th 2009, 15:46

The original German sales brochure lists six exterior colors for the Z8

Schwarz/Black
Hellrot/Red
Stratusgrau/Stratus grey
Titansilber/Titanium silver
Topasblau/Topaz blue
Criollorot/Criollo red

It was available with either a black or crema interior

**macfly** · May 20th 2009, 16:32

It is also in several of the international brochures in my collection, but I've asked the Z8 Club team about it, and they confirmed that none of the production cars were ever painted this color, but one of the pre-production prototypes was. However that car was crushed along with all the other preproduction prototypes long ago, and as far as we know there aren't any images of it.

Curiously there is no record of what colors many of the Individual cars were all painted, so there is a very slim chance there is one out there somewhere through them.

**vzben** · May 22nd 2009, 21:44

Here are new pictures of the Silver // Crema. This one was spotted in Germany :

**redz8** · May 22nd 2009, 22:06

This one has been imported from US. I wonder if it's the one that kept showing up on Ebay a few times?

**macfly** · May 23rd 2009, 00:25

Certainly is a US car, and the one that showed up earlier this year in MN sold very quickly, I actually rang about the car, and it had already been sold to Europe, so this may be that one?

**macfly** · August 6th 2009, 03:07

With many thanks to GutMD, we finally have pictures of one of the rarest and most elusive of all the color combos, Topaz/Red, of which only eight were made worldwide.

**Norcal** · August 29th 2009, 18:57

Flipping through the old gallery pics, I wondered about this. Anyone else have this color soft top? On a black car?

**thegunguy** · August 29th 2009, 19:57

That would look nice on your car. Then again, I'm not sure what color my top is...could be purple for all I know.

**vzben** · September 1st 2009, 20:33

Black Z8 with yellow seats in Belgium:
http://spots.autogespot.com/viewimag...01092009172336

**macfly** · September 1st 2009, 21:24

He needs some Brembo big brakes with yellow calipers to go with that!

**Hudson Trader** · September 2nd 2009, 13:37

I noticed that the first car (Stratus with black/red interior) has a pair of very nice rubber-nubby floor mats. I would love to know where I might be able to get a pair just like them. Please let me know if they are available and if so, how might I get a pair. Thanks.

**zilver8** · September 4th 2009, 16:10

Stratus grey Alpina in Europe... I always wondered why the US only received silver and black Alpina cars, the Stratus looks very nice.

**Norcal** · September 13th 2009, 22:50

Yet one more concept of how more red might look nice (Based on Evies car) Inspired by the Stratus/red 507 in the museum.

**thegunguy** · September 14th 2009, 05:36

The red upper dash is what the topaz/red car really needs, perhaps Marty's too. With your comp, Ian, I'd be curious to see red upper sill, black cove, red bins (essentially reverse of the standard red/black).

**Z8doc** · September 14th 2009, 07:15

On the stratus gray, the uppers of the dash and doors are still black leather, the dash and lower door compartments are in graphite gray like on the Silver Z8 I believe and typically, the carpet is red too. All red, IMHO, is way too much red. The Stratus / Red in the museum is actually a graphite grey in person with red burgundy leather, more typical of the era and has a white steering wheel. Just beautiful.
There is the same color combo in the BMW Welt in one of the new Z4 Coupes and is just as stunning (but with black steering wheel.)

**hayvenhurstkid** · September 14th 2009, 16:56

The stratus cars actually have a matching stratus dash and door bins. My silver/red car had the darker dash as you describe, but the first thing I noticed when I bought the stratus car is the matching interior panels.

View Poll Results: What's my color?

Thread: What's My Color?

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What's My Color?

Gordini's stunning Stratus // Red

A Silver // Crema spotted on EBay

Prehaps the most beautiful of all Z8's?

Are these Alpinas and Z8s on the build numbers?

Good question....

An unusual special..

In response to 2112

A couple more rare combos

Individual color combo

Color Choice

I took what I found because....

Silver with interior completely in Sport Red

The only known US spec Stratus/Red.

RARE a Z8 Hamann - 462 PS

White car?

Another wrap-up.

What ever happened to Criollorot?

Silver // Crema

Alt red interior