The BMW Z8, A Concept Car Brought To Life
With its simple, sleek and smooth design, the Z8 was even featured in James Bond movie, The World Is Never Enough, in 1999. In 2003, the Z8 was re modified as the Alpina Z8, with most of its parts such as the transmission being a 6 shift manual car into a 5 shift auto race car. The tires were changed and most of its features turned into a touring car instead. The Z8 is also known to be rare because throughout the world, only 5,703 models have been made with half of this amount being the
The body of the Z8 is made out of entirely aluminium and is designed both for sleek performance and smooth seamless design. The Z8’s convertible rooftop is also one of the rare rooftops created not solely for practicality, but also for design and beauty. The headlight for the Z8 is also a unique feature. With neon lights, the Z8’s headlights and rear lights are said to be able to last the whole lifetime of the Z8 and produces a clearer beam in a shorter period in comparison to a standard headlight. Another feature that is noticeable in the Z8 is its simple dashboard design that is offset to the middle of the dashboard in comparison to other BMW supercar models. Most of the buttons and functions of the car have been bunched together to reduce space wastage and increase practicality, with the example of the power windows and mirrors sharing one button. The lack of a navigation system and an audio system is also a major focal point for most BMW fans when it comes to the Z8.
The Z8, despite being a success in the BMW market, has come across several criticism based on its design and performance. The car is said to have a poor handling performance (in reference to Top Gear). Quoted as a terrible confusion between a supercar and roadster, the Z8 has some complications when it comes to sharp turns and handling. When achieving maximum acceleration, one of the wheels tends to break free due to the open transmission system in the Z8, though the BMW’s DSC traction and stability control prevents the car from skidding or slipping out of control. Another issue that is usually criticized is the terrible noise created by wind turbulence and friction when in the roadster mode. The detachable wind blocker did not seem to help reduce the noise or wind at all. The lack of navigation system also is a letdown to most car enthusiast as navigation systems are in the lime light of modern motor car technology. With this said, the Z8 is still a crowd favourite, mostly due to its sleek and agile design, topped off with its great road performance.
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