BMW Z8

In 1997, BMW showcased a prototype sports car at the Tokyo Auto Show designated Z07. The car was originally designed as a styling exercise to show how the BMW 507 of the '50s might have evolved had it remained in the product line.

The overwhelming popularity of the prototype show-car led to the decision to put the car into limited production, to be designated Z8. The car was featured in the James Bond movie "The World Is Not Enough" in late 1999. About 5000 Z8s were built from 1999 to 2003, with about half of them exported to the US.

The 130K+ car has an all aluminum chassis/body and includes a 400 horsepower 32 valve V8 built by the BMW Motorsports subsidiary. Performance specs touted a 0-60 time of 4.5 seconds, which was later tested at 4.2 seconds by Motor Trend magaazine. "Car and Driver" magazine also tested the car and found that it outperformed the benchmark Ferrari 360 Modena in the main three categories: acceleration, handling and braking. The Z8 held BMW production car performance records for several years.