BMW Z1 Roadster (1989-1991): a stunning “Herr unusual”

Got an original idea stuck in your engineering head? We translate it into material forms and see what happens. This is what the Teutonic geniuses from the BMW design bureau did.


In practice, the BMW Z1 Roadster came out - a car more abstruse and unusual than expected. The more curious...

About creating a model

In the 80s, a research and technology division GmbH was organized at the Bavarian Motor Works. Tasks: create concepts, test new and modernized units, experiment with innovative materials.


In 1987, employees of the division showed a concept at the Frankfurt auto show. On the mock-up, the designers tested the suspension for the famous BMW “C” model. Stylist Harm Lagai came up with the idea of ​​putting the concept into an elegant, innovative form - a roadster body.

I remember the last time the company built this type of building was 30 years ago, in the 60s. Then the project with the expensive BMW-507 roadster failed. But in the 90s they decided to take a risk. And they were right.

A cute creature was revealed to the world, which, however, looked far ahead with its clear, naive “eyes” - headlights. The developers took the letter “Z” in the name from the word Zukunft – “future”.

The warm welcome from the public at the show predetermined the fate of the BMW Z1 – into production! This is how the roadster hit the production line in the 1989 model year. In a short time, dealers collected 5 thousand applications.

Exterior

The car was built on a rigid metal frame. Body panels made of thermoplastic composite are made removable: they are secured with bolts. It was assumed that the owner could change the boring color of the car by simply adding new plastic parts. Kits were sold separately.


The paintwork of the panels is colorful, rich and of high quality. There is no feeling that the body is non-metallic. The advertising brochures optimistically stated that a car could be “changed” in 40 minutes.

But, on camera and in public, factory workers spent 6 hours replacing parts. There is no information whether any of the owners took advantage of the opportunity to change the “shirts” of the car. But there are suspicions and doubts about the rationality of the option.

Roadster dimensions:

✅ Length - 3921 mm
✅ Width - 1690 mm
✅ Height - 1227 mm
✅ Weight - 1250 kg

Compact dimensions explain the tiny elements of the exterior. This is the trunk, where only the spare tire fits, and the radiator grille. The last one, if you don't look for it, you won't notice. However, it is made in the signature BMW style - “nostrils”.

Smooth, streamlined shapes, rear overhang, smooth bottom and muffler spread across it spoke of the creators' desire for aerodynamics. Drivers even felt a kind of “ground effect” when the Zet 1 seemed to stick to the road.

Doors

This building is the crown of design thought. For an exclusive development, it’s time to come up with and give the authors a special professional award. The doors do not swing open on hinges in the direction or against the movement of the car, and do not rise on hinges like a “gull wing”. They don't even slide along the side. Using a belt mechanism, the doors go vertically... to the floor. Moreover, the glass is removed automatically.


The process of opening/closing the 70-kilogram device is smooth and mesmerizingly beautiful. The car's sills are high and wide. You cannot sit down or stand on them, which makes landing extremely difficult. True, a strong arc over the windshield helps matters.

Typically, manufacturers of open cars warn users not to hold onto the top edge of the windshield. Here it’s the other way around: leaning on the side with one hand and grabbing the handrail with the other, you can easily jump into the cabin. How Frau and Fräulein in skirts would do this, the Teutonic knights did not think.

By the way, the arc above the windshield works as an element of the power structure. The same applies to powerful thresholds. That is, when a car rolls over, these elements are designed to protect passengers from additional injuries.


No handles were installed: the door is lowered into the threshold from a button on the car body. From the interior, the doors are closed with a regular lever located near the floor. The door cards are clean, without pockets or controls.

Rear-view mirrors, due to the doors disappearing into the thresholds, are mounted on the windshield frame. A door design like this has never existed in the auto industry, either before or after Z1.

The beauty is, users testify, that the German roadster is the only car in the world in which you can drive with the doors open. Funny! But before the first police whistle: in many countries such driving is prohibited.

Interior

The interior space of the 2-seater roadster is organized taking into account unusual doors. What would have been on the door cards was placed on the dashboard. However, the ergonomics are impeccable: instruments, control buttons and roundels are arranged neatly and logically.


Sports seats with integrated headrests add comfort to travellers. True, Fräulein and Frau should keep their small things needed on the road with them, on their laps, apparently. The knights hid the glove compartment behind the passenger seat. And that seat needs to be moved back and lifted to get to the napkins, pins, documents and other things that are kept in the glove box.

The interior lighting is also unusual. One lamp was placed between the seats directly on the carpet upholstery. The second light bulb was installed where the glove compartment is in regular cars. Miniature sun visors are located on the upper frame of the windshield. It’s not crowded inside for fellow travelers, although the roadster’s wheelbase is short – 2447 mm.

Motors

There is nothing unusual about the engines, except for the way they get to the compartment itself. Why not complicate the simple procedure of opening the hood, the Teutons thought.


We proceeded as follows: first, you press a button from the interior, the lid rises by 10 centimeters. Then you move it forward, towards the headlights. Then pull up from the windshield. In short, after completing a simple “young fighter” course, you will find the engine.

A 6-cylinder power unit under the brand name M20B25 I6 opens up to the eye. Motor characteristics:

✅ Volume - 2,5 l
✅ Power - 170 liters. With. at 5,8 thousand rpm
✅ Torque – 226 N*m at 4,3 thousand rpm

The car developed a speed of 225 km/h, and the first “hundred” passed in front of the BMW-Z1 in 7,9 seconds.

Chassis

The drive went to the rear axle through a 5-speed manual gearbox. There were disc brakes all around. And the independent suspension on all wheels was special: let us remember that this is what the concept was created for.

Conventional spring struts worked at the front, and a unique multi-link design called the “Z-axis” worked at the rear. It consisted of two transverse levers, responsible for the vertical movement of the wheels, and one longitudinal one. This one was cleverly bent and attached to the hub of the ramp.

The camber was zero, and the toe-in of the drive wheels was reversed. This solution reduced the risk of oversteer. Therefore, in turns, “Z 1” was reliable and predictable.

Circulation and further development of the model

It turned out to be a nice little car. Attractive and technologically advanced. But the original suspension, the bodywork with that door sliding down, the removable “clothes” required a lot of manual assembly. The roadster was expensive - 80-89 thousand German marks.


It's easier to buy a BMW-735i limousine. The iconic Porsche 911 cost almost the same amount. Therefore, the tight-fisted burghers turned away from the machine at the moment when 8093 pieces were collected at the enterprise. roadsters.

The Teutonic geniuses thought: maybe they should change the body? And they created the Z1991 Coupe in 1. We left our favorite doors. We figured out how to combine the headlights with the rearview mirrors. In a word, they were seriously naughty. But they stopped in time: the matter did not go beyond the immobilized model.

There are still photographs of the failed coupe. The car promised to be beautiful. For some reason, there are a lot of rumors swarming around: “secret project”, “mysterious concept”, etc. We have already heard something similar...

Exactly! There was a concept BMW AVT 1981, which we wrote about earlier. But with the coupe it turned out worse: the yet unborn model is called “the ugliest.” Where did you get it? The car would be expensive, but not ugly.