Of all the 1990s roadsters available on the market, the Honda S2000, Mazda Miata, Porsche Boxster, the one I feel is the absolute best buy available today is the BMW Z3.
When it was introduced in 1995 the BMW Z3 was the company’s first roadster since the 507. It was an immediate hit, partly due to a brief appearance in the James Bond film Goldeneye, and all the 196 launch models were sold out before magazines had a chance to publish their road tests of the car. To illustrate this, the car TV show Motorweek did a story at the launch of the Z3, and even at that time every 1996 Z3 had been sold. Any interested buyers had to wait until 1997 to buy one.
I have actually owned a 1996 Z3 and thought the car was wonderful. I took my Z3 on car tours and rallies, showed it at the Hilton Head Concours, and I even drove it cross country to show it at the Quail. The car was fun to drive, reliable, comfortable, and a perfect retro modern roadster. I also owned a 2001 Porsche Boxster S and, while it was a lot faster than then Z3, it was not more fun to drive.
The Pick of the Day is one of these cars, a 1997 BMW Z3 that is being offered on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
This 1997 Z3 is painted in Atlanta Blue, the same color as the one Pierce Bronson had in Goldeneye, with a Tan Oregon leather interior. Both the paint and interior are completely original and look to be in fantastic condition, which should not be a surprise as this 1997 Z3 has only covered 20,712 total miles from new.
It is a well optioned car with electrically adjustable heated seats and its original BMW in-dash AM/FM cassette deck with a CD changer in the trunk. The seller does state that the CD changer is not currently working.
The car is equipped with the 1.9 liter DOHC BMW M44 engine that is backed by a 5-speed manual transmission.
This car includes its matching factory tonneau cover, a premium fitted car cover, toolkit, all manuals, and its original window sticker.
If you are looking for fun car to drive from the spring through the fall, this Z3 would be a great choice. The asking price for this 1997 Z3 is $15,500, which is less than 1/2 the price of the car new. It is also considerably less money than any S2000, NA Miata, or 986 Boxster would cost you in similar condition. To me this makes a 1997 BMW a lot of value for the money spent.
Click here to see the listing for this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com.
It was Joe Don Baker who drove the Z3.