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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé - a car like a sneaker

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Created on April 16, 2019

Reading time 7min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

BMW AG

Bruno von Rotz

Rallye Racing / Springer Verlag

BMW Group

Daniel Reinhard

BMW AG

Bruno von Rotz

Rallye Racing / Springer Verlag

BMW Group

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - gleicht er nun einem Turnschuh, oder nicht?

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - die Front unterscheidet sich nicht vom Roadster

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - Turnschuhe als Designeinfluss?

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - spannendes Design

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - mit praktischer Heckklappe

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - kräftig geformtes Heck

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - trotz Heckklappe kein riesiges und vor allem kein wandelbares Gepäckabteil

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - passt wie ein Turnschuh

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - keine 1,8 Meter breit

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - von hinten komplett anders als der Roadster

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - wirkt noch heute nicht altmodisch

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - Freude am Fahren

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - als noch der Fahrer bestimmte, was das Auto zu tun hatte

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - entweder es gefällt oder nicht, dazwischen gibt es nichts

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - dem Horizont entgegen

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - den Doppelrohrauspuff hatten sie alle

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - strikt für zwei Personen

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - kurvenwillig und direkt

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - liegt satt auf der Strasse

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - König der Landstrasse

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - kaum zu glauben, dass schon über 20 Jahre seit der Vorstellung vergangen sind

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - die Fahrleistungen sind auch heute noch zeitgemäss

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - schon der AMS-Testwagen wies diese Farbkombination auf

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - Leder kostete Aufpreis

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - sportlich geformte Schalensitze

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - gut ablesbare Anzeigen

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - klassische BMW-Instrumente

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - das M-Lederlenkrad war serienmässig

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - breite Mittelkonsole, hier mit BMW-eigenem Hifi-Instrumentarium

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - fünf Gänge werden aus dem Handgelenk geschaltet

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - sichtbare Ledernähte

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - Hifi-Lautsprecher im Dach integriert

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - richtig riesig ist der Kofferraum nicht, aber ein paar Turnschuhe samt Schachtel passen hinein

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - 193 PS leistete der Sechszylinder

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - typisch Neunzigerjahre, vom Motor sieht man nur noch Abdeckungen

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - längs eingebauter Reihen-Sechszylinder mit 2,8 Liter Hubraum

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - Front-Mittelmotor

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - kräftige Aussenspiegel, vielfältig nutzbar

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - 17-Zoll-Räder von BMW

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - kunstvolle Luftauslässe an der Flanke

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - Typenschriftzug am Heck

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BMW Z3 2.8 Coupé (2000) - der Nürburgring-Kleber findet sich sicherlich auf einigen dieser Coupés

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Rallye Racing Heft 12/1998 - BMW Z3 Coupé im Vergleich zum Audi TT und zum Porsche Boxster

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Auch dies BMW-Meilensteine - das BMW Z3 Coupé und die M-Version davon - Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2016

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Summary

Anyone standing in front of a BMW Z3 Coupé and looking at it from the side will immediately understand why the car was also known as the "sneaker". No other car at the time looked like this BMW and its successor did not continue the shooting brake design. Nevertheless, the compact Granturismo coupé found many friends and they remain loyal to it to this day. This driving report portrays one of the only 7671 2.8-liter two-seaters built and tells the story of this unusual youngtimer coupé.

This article contains the following chapters

Classic Shooting Brake
Technology from the roadster
Not cheap
Heart is the trump card
20 years later
From the 2.8 to the 3.0
For just over four years
Further information

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In the summer of 1995, BMW introduced the Z3 "Roadster", which made its appearance in the James Bond film "Golden Eye" shortly afterwards. Unfortunately, viewers didn't get to see any of the Q refinements and the car even survived the movie undamaged, but the new convertible still brought BMW a boom in orders. In their spare time, some BMW engineers developed the open version into a coupé. The result of their activities, which had already been reported in the press in 1995, could then be admired at the IAA in Frankfurt in September 1997. And the car was an instant hit. Because the company wanted to stay as close as possible to the roadster for cost reasons, the coupé only differs from its open-top brother in the rear section. Instead of simply modeling a fixed hardtop, the BMW stylists opted for a shooting brake end, i.e. an almost upright tailgate. At the same time, they extended the cheeks slightly and gave the car an incredibly powerful appearance from behind.

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