2000 BMW Z3M (E36/8) Coupé S50

Property of a Gentleman.

The Z3M Coupé divided opinion upon its launch in 1998 and has since become a cult classic within the modern collector car market. Some, at the time, questioned BMW’s sanity for producing such a bold design that had no precedent and interestingly, no successor. Stylistically it was a loose take on the 'shooting brake', a term normally used to describe a lengthened estate car, but adopted by coachbuilders from the 1950s to the 1980s when they added a rectangular 'glasshouse' to the back of contemporary saloons and even sports cars with varying degrees of success. Yet, by the late 2000s, who could have predicted the similarly silhouetted Ferrari FF and the later Porsche Taycan, among others? With the market today seemingly awash with sporting SUVs, the Z3M Coupé was both unique and visionary at launch. Sales were slow, however as BMW provided almost zero marketing budget to prevent direct sales competition from the more profitable E46 M3 and therefore UK-supplied Z3M Coupés are scarce today and  a low-mileage, well documented example is highly prized.

The M Coupé housed the fabulous straight-six engine from the M3 and there were three distinct iterations of the Z3M Coupé made for the UK-market over the model's short life. Until April 1999 the car was referred to as the S50 pre-facelift, between April 1999 and 2001 it's known as the S50 post-facelift and between 2001 and 2002, it’s the S54 facelift car. Apart from the engine, the main differences between models are the drive by wire throttle, DSC system and externally, shadow chrome wheels. The inside was as defiantly individual as the outside, featuring chrome-rimmed dials with multi-coloured leather seats available as an option but, despite being distinctly different, it was built to the same superb standards as any BMW and was a totally practical everyday driver that just loved to play the 'bad-boy' at weekends.

One of the 821 right-hand drive cars produced for the UK, this example was originally supplied by Hexagon BMW of North London on 5th September 2000 and the specification included a limited-slip differential, PAS, ABS, cruise-control, electric windows, electric and heated mirrors, heated windscreen washers, power tilting panoramic roof, sports seats and 17" BMW Roadster alloys. Finished in Titanium Silver metallic with a black Nappa leather interior, it had only covered a BMW main dealer maintained 17,745 miles from new when we sold the car in November 2019. Today, the mileage, at the time of cataloguing, still read modestly at a mere 21,145. The service booklets and BMW maintenance records within the history file are joined by historic MOT certificates, as well an advisory free MOT valid until 2nd April 2026.

Opportunities to own low-mileage, low-production sporting modern classics are rare and this characterful Z3M warrants serious consideration.