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BMW Z1
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The first example of a Z1 was released by BMW to the press in 1986 and later officially presented at the 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show. Initial demand was so fierce that BMW had 5,000 orders before production began. Unfortunately, demand dropped significantly around 1988 and BMW ended production in 1991. There is speculation that this drop in demand was due to the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz SL (Brossaud, 1) and the early inflated demand from speculative investors. In 1988, however, BMW was quoted as saying that they had 35,000 orders for Z1s.
The BMW Z1 was designed over a three-year period by an in-house division of BMW Technik GmbH. The development of the Z1 is attributed to Dr. [lrich Bez, not to forget the core of his team at BMW Technik GmbH (Alexander Pregl, Rudolf Müller, Lutz Janssen, Wolf-Henryk Menke, Dieter Schaffner, Klaus Faust, Sabine Zemelka and Stephan Stark). Control of the project was turned over to Dr. Klaus Faust when Bez left for Porsche in October, 1988.
BMW considered building an all-wheel drive model but this was later scrapped. (Brossaud, 1).
The BMW Z1 was used to develop and debut several technologies. Z1 designer Harm Lagaay mentioned that Z1 production helped generate patents for BMW's high-intensity discharge lamp, integrated roll-bar, door mechanism, and underbody tray.
Features
One unique quality about the Z1 is it's vertically retracting doors. The inspiration for these doors came from more traditional roadsters which often feature removable metal or cloth doors. Because removable doors did not fit within BMW's design goals, the retractable doors were installed instead. Because the body, with its high sills offers crash protection independent of the doors, the vehicle may be legally and safely driven with the doors up or down, although they are not legal in the U.S.
Gallery
