Nick Hall Freelance motoring journalist in the UK
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Total BMW
Hamann Healer
Good things may come in threes but BMW, historically speaking, has struggled with eights. In truth neither the space age coupe nor the retro-chic Z8 deserved to flop quite so badly, though, and had BMW gone the same route as Hamann Motorsport with a few finishing touches then the languid roadster could have lived up to the pre-launch hopes for an iconic sportscar.
There was never much wrong with the all-aluminium roadster, except perhaps for a minor identity crisis. At 1600kg it was too heavy to compete with the Ferrari 355s and Porsche 911s it was inevitably stacked up against due to its price tag.
But in reality the reincarnation of the legendary 507 should have been marketed as a seductive, cheaper and potentially quicker alternative to the Ferrari 550. With a softer, more pliant ride and easy controls it was easily as good a car as the Mercedes SL, which has sold by the bucketload.
This was a grand tourer, a borderline supercar and daily driver rolled into one. Sitting somewhere between the leading sportscars of the time and the big GTs, nobody seemed to get it and the Z8 crashed and burned with press and customers alike. Integral compromises were highlighted as flaws and the car took an undue kicking.
Three-time Super Tourenwagen Champion Richard Hamann understands the Z8, though, having spent three decades producing big power BMWs. Hamann’s business has expanded and he now has a fleet of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and 800bhp SLs at his disposal, but the Z8 still sees an inordinate amount of service as Hamann plays in its natural environment the left lane of the Autobahn.
And to make sure nobody interrupts his fun, he has a neat trick hidden behind the front grille: Flashing white lights that look for all the world like the emergency service from hell bearing down in the rear view in the dead of night. Incidentally it’s a deliberately intricate procedure to get them started, one the Polizei wouldn’t stand a chance of replicating should they pull him over.
That’s if he decided to stop in the first place. Equipped with the 400bhp engine transplanted from the M5, the Z8 was a mighty proposition to begin with. So much so that the Hamann touch has merely augmented, rather than transformed the package.
High performance headers, catalysts, a reprogrammed ECU and a sport air filter all combine to kick the horsepower up to 450bhp. That will knock a couple of tenths off the stock Z8’s quoted 0-60mph time of 4.5s, although that was probably more like 4.2s in real time. In a straight line, it’s safe to say this car is ballistic.
A new rear muffler on the exhaust and four exit pipes contribute to the horsepower, but the main effect is on the awesome throaty noise that bounced off the trees, walls and surrounding buildings. The Hamann Z8 has a deep baritone basstrack courtesy of the 5-liter V8 and its massive 396 lb ft of torque at a comfortable 3800rpm makes this an ideal car for cruising down Sunset Strip or Route 66 alike.
You don’t need music, the Z8 will bring the bassline, but any CD would have to drip with bass, booty shaking and whatever goes with that. Snoop Dogg might look at home in the Z8, if it had more ho storage.
On the move this is not a car to be revved to the limit, it’s a machine that encourages a relaxed driving style using a higher gear and riding on the torque. The blaring exhaust note will certainly draw the eye, and expect to become the centre of attention in a way that ten a penny Ferrari owners couldn’t hope to match if you drive this slowly down Sunset on a balmy evening.
Hamann is renowned for major optical conversions, but the shape of the base car that was good enough for James Bond clearly struck a chord and he has treated the Z8 with a velvet glove. A lip spoiler, side sills and a new rear apron to cope with the four exit pipes combine with a rear spoiler and polished rollover hoops are the only real visible changes. Apart from the 20” Anniversary wheels that cost ¤4500 + taxes a set and are so large the wings needed a minor reshape, that is.
But those minor additions have been mighty effective. Squint at the rear of this Z8 through a blanket of fog and it might just pass for a Porsche Carrera GT as it roars off into the distance. As for the profile, the car is now slung low to the ground and looks like, even if it couldn’t outpace the 355, it would probably break its legs with a pool cue before the contest ever took place.
The interior was beyond cool to begin with, so bar some new dials to cope with the removal of the 155mph limiter. The expanse of red leather has now been bejewelled with aluminium pedals, handbrake cover, replacement knob for the short-shift system and you can, of course, go for the Hamann seats. The gorgeous expanse of red leather on the crafted retro dash, though, has been left well alone.
It was always a GT rather than an out and out sportscar. With the same basic suspension geometry as the M5 with 500lb less up top, it should have worked, but it was never a good idea for anyone other than a driving, God to turn off the electronics and powerslide this car through bends. Had the original Z8 started to slide on a South German road, it would have finished in an Austrian ditch.
Hamann has tuned the handling with a serious fully adjustable threaded suspension kit. This can drop the car by 60mm on the front and 30mm at the rear on its most aggressive settings, bringing the arches almost into contact with the low profile rubber.
Seriously uprated brakes are normally a godsend when it comes to wiping the speed off before it gets that far and Hamann has gone for 355x32mm slotted and vented discs with four-pot callipers. While it brakes hard, though, it’s not the most stable thing with the anchors on and the minimal travel can be a burden when the suspension hits the bump-stops and sends the long nose sliding out of line.
The result is obviously a car in much closer contact with the road, though, which will afford far more grip before it begins to break traction with the loud pedal down. You still don’t want to go sliding it, but the car will carry far more speed through the corner before lateral forces kick in.
Of course the payoff with the weight is high-speed stability and the Hamann Z8 felt planted to the floor on an undulating road that would batter a 355 all over the road on our brief test. For Hamann’s long distance trips on the Autobahns, it’s the perfect, relaxed high-speed companion. Yes it falls apart under close examination on B roads, but the Z8 would form a well-loved cornerstone of any major collection and Hamann’s tricks make it all the more enticing. You can buy this car for ¤100,000 ready to go, and if you’re that well off you won’t regret it for a second.
Cars are subjective things. We don’t always have to compare the Z8’s cornering capabilities to those of a similarly priced Porsche. Sometimes a car is just a work of art that should be taken on its own merits, and if anyone is lucky enough to have the money for a collection of exotica they would do well to find a space for the cruising, bruising German muscle car.
As a grand tourer it’s still as good as any and its looks, a modern take on 1950s style, will age better than Connor MacLeod in a metal scarf. The clear American influence gives it the slightest whiff of a badly themed burger bar on the outskirts of Croydon, but it’s the biggest car buying market in the world and you can’t blame BMW for doffing its cap to the ultimate paymaster when dipping its toe into such exclusive waters.
All aluminium construction means it should last forever, too, although it didn’t achieve the weight reductions BMW wanted. It’s stiff, corrosion-free and was made in limited numbers, it’s a future classic in the making and one day we’ll look back and mourn a car cruelly cut in half in a James Bond film and then cut off at the knees by the bean counters.
Had they all been made this way there would be far more Z8s in the world, and possibly a few less Ferraris. This is a car that finally lived up to the original’s great expectations.