2003 BMW Z8 Alpina V8 Roadster

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION

The BMW Z8 is a fast and stylish two-seater that’s now attracted a cult following, but the car being offered for sale here is even more special. It’s one of only 555 Alpina models to be built, most of which were sold new in the USA. 

Built on 14 October 2002, it is ‘number 116’ of the 555 and is presented in Titanium Silver with a black interior. After being supplied to the US, it was imported to the UK in 2015 via a New Jersey dealer by the head of an automotive design company. 

He immediately took it to BMW main dealer Sytner Nottingham and had the car converted to UK spec, before it passed to a new owner in October 2016. An Inspection II service was carried out that year at 15,393 miles, and it had still covered less than 18,000 miles by the time it was bought by its next owner at Bonhams’ Goodwood Revival auction in September 2021. 

Since then, it has formed part of a private collection and has been used only sparingly. It’s being offered for sale in exceptional original condition and even still features the factory-supplied plastic protection for the carpets. 

On the road, it benefits from the extensive Alpina modifications that made it an even more effective GT car than the standard Z8. Beneath the bonnet is the 4.8-litre engine from the Alpina B10 V8 S, which drives through a ZF Switchtronic automatic transmission with paddle-shift option. 

The standard 18in wheels were replaced on the Alpina model with 20in alloys, the suspension was revised to give a more comfortable ride, and the interior was retrimmed in softer Nappa leather. The steering wheel, gauges and gear-selection display were all specific to the Alpina, too. 

This Alpina Z8 was featured in BMW Car magazine in May 2016 and comes with its original hardtop, and is a superb example of this extremely rare modern classic.

MODEL HISTORY  

BMW’s E52 project first broke cover at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show as the Z07 concept, a spectacular homage to the 1950s 507 that was designed by Henrik Fisker as part of a team working under Chris Bangle. 

It subsequently went into production as the Z8 with very little in the way of visual changes. Based around an aluminium spaceframe, it was assembled in Dingolfing before being finished in Munich, and was powered by the 4.9-litre V8 engine from the contemporary E39 M5. This produced just under 400bhp and drove through a six-speed manual gearbox. 

Performance was predictably strong, with a number of period road-testers managing to better the factory’s official 0-60mph time of 4.7 seconds. Its top speed was limited to 155mph.

The suspension comprised MacPherson struts and lower wishbones at the front, with a five-link set-up at the rear. The brakes, meanwhile, were taken from BMW’s 750i. 

The Scott Lempert-designed interior continued the retro theme, with plenty of brushed aluminium on display and a sweeping dashboard that had all the instruments placed in the centre, angled slightly towards the driver. Electrically operated leather seats, sat-nav and air-con were all standard. 

In total, 5703 Z8s were built between 1999 and 2003, with the majority of them going to the USA. The model coincided with James Bond’s BMW phase and a Z8 appeared in The World Is Not Enough, and over the years its stock has steadily risen as one of the most attractive ‘retro’ designs of the 1990s and early 2000s.