The "Z" group: A BMW design study group formed in the 80s to conduct exeperiments in design and engineering. The Zukunft group was established to conduct design studies and create concept cars for the future. Im sure that all of you have seen the turbo diesel Z9. The "Z" in the names of the Z3, Z8 and the rest of the Z cars comes from the german word Zukunft which means future in english. Although only and handful of the Z cars make it to production, every car they build is a working model which goes on the concept car tour around the world after it is completed. Below I have listed the other Z cars. Now for the Z1: As some of you know, the doors slide down in to the chassis through motors and gears. This enhances the open air motoring experience. The Z1 is powered by the 170 HP engine from the E30 325i. The Z1 was also the first BMW to have the multi-link trailing arm rear suspension that was found on all the E36s. The body panels are all plastic and removable so you could drive the skeleton if you wanted to. Only 8000 Z1s were ever made. Here are some pictures of the Z1.

The rest of the "Z" cars
The Z2

The Z3

The Z4

The Z5

The Z6

The Z8

The Z9

The Z10

The Z11

The Z13

The Z14

The Z18

The Z21

The Z22

If you would like any other info about the Z cars or any other BMW, just leave a question in the guestbook and I will get back to you. Thanks