1991 BMW Z1

• A lovely, UK-supplied, left-hand drive example of these innovative little roadsters
• First registered on 12/08/1991, three registered owners and 11,200 miles from new
• Finished in Urgrun Green Metallic with Lemon Nubuck leather and Biscuit cloth
• Moved to Germany in May 2018. Full German TUEV in May 2019
• Original Z1 Radio replaced. New tyres (500 miles), rear-axle rebush, full service with belts
• Supplied with both sets of keys, documents, invoices, MOT and TUEV reports
• Expensive when new and rare today. Distinctive looks and cool doors guarantee continued popularity

Of all the BMW Z cars, the Zukunft tag is arguably most fittingly applied to the Z1, a car that even now, thirty years after it first went on sale, looks fresh and modern. The Z1 used a skeletal frame on which the body panels were mounted, making it incredibly stiff, banishing scuttle shake and giving the car superb handling. The body panels were made of plastic, mounted on a substructure of hot-dipped galvanised pressed steel and the seams were continuously zinc welded, adding 25 per cent to body stiffness. The side panels and doors were made from General Electric's Xenoy injection-cast thermoplastic, the bonnet and boot lid were glass-reinforced plastic and the whole body was painted in a special flexible lacquer.

State of the art thinking was evident in every aspect of the car's design. Those magnificent doors were operated by toothed belts which lowered both the window and door at the touch of a button. The Z1 used the innovative Z-axle suspension set-up at the rear and also featured some clever aerodynamics, the front of the car was designed to create a high-pressure zone ahead of the wheels to induce downforce whilst the aerofoil-shaped rear silencer helped to decrease turbulence and lift. The engine is one of BMW's finest in the form of the M20B25 unit taken from the E30 325i. The Z1 is special in every sense of the word, it's special to look at, to sit in and to drive and importantly, as the years have passed, people have clearly started to appreciate it as prices have soared. This is a marvellous little car with almost universal appeal and is, without a doubt, one of BMW's finest moments of the past thirty years.

This super little Z1 is finished in a very attractive blue/green metallic know as Urgrun with a contrasting light yellow leather interior with cloth panels in light biscuit colour. UK-supplied in left-hand drive, it was first registered on 12/08/1991 to a Mr Ray of St Albans and he was to keep it until June 1995 when it had covered 3,443 miles. The car moved north to bonny Scotland at that point in the care of a Mr Kelly from Edinburgh before returning south once again in April 1999 with an indicated mileage of 6,330. The BMW's third registered owner was a Mr Hayhow from Hitchin who cared for the car for 19 years only covering a little over 3,000 miles during that period. In May 2018, the Z1 returned to its homeland and was looked after by a knowledgeable collector from Potsdam who re-installed the original Z1 radio, fitted four new tyres (500 miles), recommissioned the rear axle and ensured the car was fully serviced with fresh belts. It was granted a full German TUEV in May 2019 and has covered only a few miles since.

It's supplied with both sets of keys, documents, invoices, MOT and TUEV reports. Expensive when new and very rare in the UK today, the Z1's distinctive looks and cool doors will ensure its continued popularity.