The BMW Z3 was launched in 1995 and was the first BMW to be manufactured outside of Germany with production based from BMW s plant in South Carolina, USA.

The sleek two-seater bodywork was penned by Joji Nagashima and development had begun four years earlier in 1991 led by Burkhard Gschel The model was an instant success and featured extensively in the 1995 Eon productions James Bond film Goldeneye .

BMW offered a range of engines starting with the 1700cc four cylinder base model through to final the 3000cc six cylinder 228bhp variant introduced in 2000 until end of Z3 production in 2003 Naturally BMW Motorsport were tasked with creating a high performance version of the Z3, known as M Roadster , this flagship model was powered by the M Division s superb S50 six-cylinder engine, as fitted in the M3 Evolution, producing 321bhp mated to a five speed manual gearbox, resulting in outstanding high performance sports car with handling to match thanks to extensive revisions of the brakes, s...