Description
This car is being featured on super car Saturday 31st August at Salon Prive at Blenheim Palace if you would like to see her in the flesh go to - details above. Very low mileage and rare BMW Z1 Harge with a wonderful and interesting history. Originally supplied to Japan and then imported by the Japanese owner into the UK in 1998. The car was given a complete restoration in 2017 by leading Z1 specialist Ivor Dadswell. The car has been road tested on the rolling road and produces 177bhp, Harge features include a cylinder head, alloy wheels, exhaust and interior upgrades and of course the Harge body stripes. Featured in the BMW Club magazine. Since my ownership (2020) I have spent £5000 on bringing the car up to a wonderful standard and it has been maintained by BMW specialist Birds, the UK Harge franchisee . It’s a reluctant sale for a fast appreciating classic that gives miles of smiles and handles beautifully.
I have a full photographic review of the restoration, along with the original brochures. Even today after some 36 years since its launch the doors always surprise and delight passengers. With the doors and hood down it’s the nearest you will feel to riding on a motorcycle.
The car uses a skeletal frame on which the body panels are mounted making it incredibly stiff, banishing scuttle shake and giving the car superb handling. The body panels are made of plastic, mounted on a substructure of hot dipped glazed pressed steel and then seams were continuously zinc welded, adding 25% to body stiffness. The side panels and doors are made of thermoplastic and the bonnet and boot lid are glass reinforced plastic and the whole body is painted in a special flexible lacquer. The Z1 uses the innovative Z-axel suspension set up at the rear and also features F1 style aerodynamics. The front of the car was designed to create a high pressure zone ahead of the wheels to induce downforce whilst the aero shaped rear silencer decreases turbulence and lift making it a joy to drive.
