Z8Mania
March 25th 2008, 12:29
Well, after becoming excited to read this, and being a regular subscriber to BMW Car and wondering why I never retained my copy of this particular issue, I ordered a replacement copy for about $15 all in. I went on a family vacation and waiting for me upon my return was my copy of BMW Car from January 2007 featuring their legendary "Ultimate Guide" section, this time showcasing our beloved Zee Eight- or should I say Zed Eight in honour of the UK? I suppose it depends on which colour you prefer. :) Anyway, I flip it open and I begin to remember why I threw it out in the first place.
The article is written by Sebastian le Latour and I think he tries to make it as factual as possible. The article as a whole does have a pretty good amount of Z8 information all collected in one place so if anyone wants to see it, I suggest you contact BMW Car- they still have copies available for backorder.
BMW Car is a generally excellent magazine and Im dissapointed that their generally wonderful Ultimate Guide section was weakest on the Z8- maybe its not such a surprise since the number of Z8s is relatively small.
So here begins my rant. What I did and still do not appreciate is the tone taken about the Z8s styling. I know the UK press and the Z8 did not enjoy a love affair but in many instances this was due to the lack of RHD on the car. In Mr. le Latour's instance, it seems he either feels the 507 is so vastly superior that the Z8 is therefore not worthy or he just doesn't like the styling at all. Which is fine since everyone is entitled to their opinion but he writes it as fact. Here are some quotes
As far as modern interpretations go, it was spot on though at the same time it wasn't the most coherent of shapes and lacked the 507's ultimate style and grace.
Here we must agree to disagree, because while the 507 is pretty and good looking, I think the Z8 has more style and grace and is more finished looking. Thats just my opinion, which is fine if I state it as such- Mr. le Latour here states it more or less as fact- that really gets under my skin.
For the Z8, all traditional BMW styling cues went out the window and the resulting car is hard to pin down as a BMW for those not in the know - it's not a shape thats easy on the eye and you can spend a long time looking over it without ever really finding its best angle. The vast expanse of bonnet descends to the black-lined supercar headlights, the bulging 'cheeks' are split by the amber flash of the indicators while the mustache grille is punctuated by a foglight at either end. A strip of body-coloured bumper separates this from the lower, wider valence that stretches across the car's front. The side vents are elegant and a swage line stretches from their trailing edge to the rear of the door handle which sits above it. The hump in the shoulder line is less pronounced than in the Z07, but the rear end is no less bizarre, with its high set brake lights and indicators, powered by neon tubes rather than traditional bulbs or even LEDs. There was also a distinct lack of radio and telephone ariels on the car - these were actually housed within the rear bumper itself, thus leaving the bodywork uncluttered. If the exterior was challenging, the interior was even more so, with a design unlike any BMW before it or since.
This is pure pure pure opinion written as fact and even fatally incorrect in a few (though minor) places. Lets see- traditional styling cues- 4 headlights- check. Double kidney grille- check. I have to say that most people I encounter in my Z8 think its some really super version of the Z3 and ask about it. If you think BMW is supposed to build boxy sedans then of course its not recognizable but then neither would the Z3 have been.
A shape thats not easy on the eye? I wonder what shape is easy on Mr. le Latuor's eyes then? The Z8 is one of the most beautiful new cars to come along in a very long time. I challenge anyone to name a more beautiful new car thats out today at any price point. I cannot explain the disappointment I feel when I read his words on this- I feel like this is a review of the Z4 not the Z8. Now that is a challenging shape which creases and shashes that lead to nowhere.
Where he is wrong is in calling the front lights foglights- they may look like foglights Mr. le Latour, but if you did your home work you would know that these are actually the brights- or as you would call them, the "high beams".
Then we get to the rear end comment- where should one put the brake lights- to the bottom? You want a challenging rear end- how about what was presented on the E65 when new to the world. Which brings me to the comment about the interior. You say the design was unlike any BMW before or since- how about the E65 and many BMWs since- that idrive binnacle is center mounted and is central to the vehicle's operation- though it has (thankfully) become less so over time. The only thing radical about the Z8 interior is the center mounted gauges, which, I admit, are a little more difficult to read, but the trade off is when you look out you just see the car and the sceneary and I think the Z8 is more about the romanticism of driving than it is about outright specs.
The Z8 clearly did not find its way into Mr. le Latour's heart, thats fine, but I would appreciate opinion being stated as opinion and not as fact. Finally, though it suits many to say the production run ended due to lack of market demand, it ended right where BMW said it would from the onset- they said they would build between 5-8k cars due to the fact that that's all the specialized tooling could handle. They built (I think) 5703 Z8s and Alpina V8s. Hardly a failure, though the history is the demand did trail off at the end. I blame the initial buzz over the car, the stock market (net) bust, and competition from the SL55 AMG which is a better daily car and has more acceleration. While the SL55 AMG is a tremendous vehicle, and while there are many wonderful vehicles out there, there are very few modern cars that feel as special as the Z8. I've owned mine for over 7 years and Ive never felt the urge to sell it or part ways with it and each time I fire her up she feels just as special as when new. You want to know about a car- I think this is the best test of all.
I could go on but it would be pointless so I will now end my rant.
The article is written by Sebastian le Latour and I think he tries to make it as factual as possible. The article as a whole does have a pretty good amount of Z8 information all collected in one place so if anyone wants to see it, I suggest you contact BMW Car- they still have copies available for backorder.
BMW Car is a generally excellent magazine and Im dissapointed that their generally wonderful Ultimate Guide section was weakest on the Z8- maybe its not such a surprise since the number of Z8s is relatively small.
So here begins my rant. What I did and still do not appreciate is the tone taken about the Z8s styling. I know the UK press and the Z8 did not enjoy a love affair but in many instances this was due to the lack of RHD on the car. In Mr. le Latour's instance, it seems he either feels the 507 is so vastly superior that the Z8 is therefore not worthy or he just doesn't like the styling at all. Which is fine since everyone is entitled to their opinion but he writes it as fact. Here are some quotes
As far as modern interpretations go, it was spot on though at the same time it wasn't the most coherent of shapes and lacked the 507's ultimate style and grace.
Here we must agree to disagree, because while the 507 is pretty and good looking, I think the Z8 has more style and grace and is more finished looking. Thats just my opinion, which is fine if I state it as such- Mr. le Latour here states it more or less as fact- that really gets under my skin.
For the Z8, all traditional BMW styling cues went out the window and the resulting car is hard to pin down as a BMW for those not in the know - it's not a shape thats easy on the eye and you can spend a long time looking over it without ever really finding its best angle. The vast expanse of bonnet descends to the black-lined supercar headlights, the bulging 'cheeks' are split by the amber flash of the indicators while the mustache grille is punctuated by a foglight at either end. A strip of body-coloured bumper separates this from the lower, wider valence that stretches across the car's front. The side vents are elegant and a swage line stretches from their trailing edge to the rear of the door handle which sits above it. The hump in the shoulder line is less pronounced than in the Z07, but the rear end is no less bizarre, with its high set brake lights and indicators, powered by neon tubes rather than traditional bulbs or even LEDs. There was also a distinct lack of radio and telephone ariels on the car - these were actually housed within the rear bumper itself, thus leaving the bodywork uncluttered. If the exterior was challenging, the interior was even more so, with a design unlike any BMW before it or since.
This is pure pure pure opinion written as fact and even fatally incorrect in a few (though minor) places. Lets see- traditional styling cues- 4 headlights- check. Double kidney grille- check. I have to say that most people I encounter in my Z8 think its some really super version of the Z3 and ask about it. If you think BMW is supposed to build boxy sedans then of course its not recognizable but then neither would the Z3 have been.
A shape thats not easy on the eye? I wonder what shape is easy on Mr. le Latuor's eyes then? The Z8 is one of the most beautiful new cars to come along in a very long time. I challenge anyone to name a more beautiful new car thats out today at any price point. I cannot explain the disappointment I feel when I read his words on this- I feel like this is a review of the Z4 not the Z8. Now that is a challenging shape which creases and shashes that lead to nowhere.
Where he is wrong is in calling the front lights foglights- they may look like foglights Mr. le Latour, but if you did your home work you would know that these are actually the brights- or as you would call them, the "high beams".
Then we get to the rear end comment- where should one put the brake lights- to the bottom? You want a challenging rear end- how about what was presented on the E65 when new to the world. Which brings me to the comment about the interior. You say the design was unlike any BMW before or since- how about the E65 and many BMWs since- that idrive binnacle is center mounted and is central to the vehicle's operation- though it has (thankfully) become less so over time. The only thing radical about the Z8 interior is the center mounted gauges, which, I admit, are a little more difficult to read, but the trade off is when you look out you just see the car and the sceneary and I think the Z8 is more about the romanticism of driving than it is about outright specs.
The Z8 clearly did not find its way into Mr. le Latour's heart, thats fine, but I would appreciate opinion being stated as opinion and not as fact. Finally, though it suits many to say the production run ended due to lack of market demand, it ended right where BMW said it would from the onset- they said they would build between 5-8k cars due to the fact that that's all the specialized tooling could handle. They built (I think) 5703 Z8s and Alpina V8s. Hardly a failure, though the history is the demand did trail off at the end. I blame the initial buzz over the car, the stock market (net) bust, and competition from the SL55 AMG which is a better daily car and has more acceleration. While the SL55 AMG is a tremendous vehicle, and while there are many wonderful vehicles out there, there are very few modern cars that feel as special as the Z8. I've owned mine for over 7 years and Ive never felt the urge to sell it or part ways with it and each time I fire her up she feels just as special as when new. You want to know about a car- I think this is the best test of all.
I could go on but it would be pointless so I will now end my rant.