As the first car developed by BMW technology, the modular design, radical styling and the influence of the Z1 and Z4 cement the heir in BMW history.
BMW began to get forty years ago this year real Ernst with concept vehicles. The company’s management board wanted to create a “Think Tank” for the latest cars. This group was called BMW Technik, which was founded in 1985. The very first car where the Semi-cover group started working have Known in the past four decades. Without the Z1 concept, some really iconic BMW models would never have come into play. We look back on the inheritance of the Z1 forty years later.
How to work with the BMW Z1 concept started
The BMW Z1 started life as a purely conceptual vehicle in 1985. The core components were a special suspension, which is referred to as the “Z axis”, together with body boards from a futuristic and high-strength material. The car was not even planned to have doors originally. The Z1 was completed by August 1986, with a street concept. The car even emblazoned the strange dropdown doors, which almost guaranteed ensured that the Z1 remained a concept and nothing more. While Technik’s boss insisted on producing the Z1, it was still very high in the air until after the car’s debut. It turned out that it was a hit. Customers let BMW know that the Z1, which apparently had just enough 507 and 328 influence on the intrigue, was something that had to go into production.
But we just jump a little forward. As a concept, the BMW Z1 saw a width of design changes in its entire history. The car was not just a styling project and Technical Tour de Force. It was also developed from the ground up to a flexible platform that may correspond to a variety of models. You could even consider it an early “modular platform” that we see from the brand today. As a result, BMW technology outlined and finally laid a variety of interesting Z1 concept cars. Not only an early version of the clown shoe coupé form, which later appeared on the Z3 m at the end of the nineties, we also saw F1 engine z1 concepts, off-road versions (one cleverly referred to as “grass shop”) and more. Another core focus of the Z1 was the description of the BMW production process.
Bring the Z1 concept to reality and beyond
A little more than a year passed after BMW debut the Z1 before official communication. The company said that the Z1 Roadster would become a reality in August 1987. That was actually a certain hurdle for BMW, since the hand assembly was almost mandatory because of the trust of the Z1 in Xenoy Plastic Body Panel and the unorthodox design. BMW ironed the kink and was able to start production in 1988 and brought six Z1s into the world a day.
Then of course there is the legacy. Without the Z1 we would not have modern classics like the Z4 M40i. But we also have cars such as the Z3 M Roadster and its shooting brake brother, the Z3 M Coupé – loving and colloquially known as a “clown shoe” for its incredibly unique form. The equotic Z4-M coupé and its open counterpart, including the Z4 M Roadster, would not have existed without the Z1. And the legacy started 40 years ago this year.
Parts of this story came from BMWS hidden gemstones, Part of Steve Saxty’s excellent BMW behind the scenery collections. We strongly recommend checking the book yourself if you can. Further information on the Z1 and BMW technology can be found, including exclusive photos and details that you cannot find anywhere else.
