Vehicle Description
Chassis No. WBABA91000AL06826
Shock waves were sent through the automotive world during the 1987
Frankfurt Motor Show when the covers were pulled back to reveal the
Z1. Harm Lagaay created a futuristic car with numerous unique
styling and features. This car was quite literally BMW looking to
the future as the 'Z' in Z1 stands for 'Zukunft' or future in
German. This car would lay the groundwork for subsequent
generations of 'Z' cars, including the Z3, Z4, and equally iconic
Z8.
The Z1 combined innovative design characteristics with similarly
advanced production technics, the most obvious being the vertically
retracting doors and polymer bodywork. High side plates resulted in
a similar problem to the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL 'Gullwing'; there was
no place to put a conventional door. Where the Mercedes was a
hardtop coupe, this was an open roadster. Thusly the decision was
made to have the doors drop into the bodywork and giving the
occupants an even more open-air driving experience when they are
lowered. Complementing this sturdy, lightweight chassis were
innovative thermoplastic body panels. This design choice allowed
the car to be driven without bodywork or change the color simply by
swapping the panels.
This Z1 rolled off the BMW production line on 20 September 1990
with striking Magic Violet metallic paintwork before being
collected by a German enthusiast. According to the Z1 club, that
makes this car one of 228 painted in this color worldwide. The
vehicle would then be proudly displayed as a piece of automotive
sculpture at the entrance to the owner's office. Owing to its use,
the first registration of the car took place in 1996, and only as a
matter of convenience for any future caretakers that go to register
it. The car would remain in his care for 33 years until it was sold
in 2021, at which point it was imported to the US by the seller.
Today this Magic Violet Z1 shows only 19 kilometers at the time of
cataloging, leaving the car in like new condition.
