1991 BMW Z1

BMW reckoned owners could swap body panels in hours for a color change, though people who have tried it say to allow two days

by Paul Hardiman

Like its predecessor the 507, which bristled with trick technology but ultimately failed to go as well as it looked, the Z1 is a bit of a novelty.

But it did mark the return to a forgotten line for BMW: the two-seat sports car. Under that long-nosed plastic body hides a fine automobile. It is arguably more attractive than the Z3 that followed and has exclusivity on its side, with just 8,000 built.

That it never came to the U.S. was almost certainly due to the sliding doors, unique half-depth devices that dropped electrically into the sills when the door handles were pulled, taking the windows down with them if they were raised.

It was built on a galvanized steel punt built by Baur, clothed in thermoplastic panels made by General Electric Plastics, and it rode basically on E30 325i mechanicals. This was the first BMW to use the multi-link “Z-axle” at the rear, next seen under the new-generation E36 3-Series.

Other innovations included...