Basic information about BMW Z3

The BMW Z3 was designed by Joji Nagashima of the BMW design team and developed from the E36 platform of the 3 Series. The resulting platform is sometimes referred to as the E36/7(roadster) or E36/8(coupé). The rear semi-trailing arm suspension from the E30 was used rather than the more sophisticated multilink suspension from the E36.

In the North American market, the inline-4 engine was replaced by a larger straight-6 engine in 1997: the 2.8 L M52B28. This engine, similar to the BMW M52 in the 328i except with an all aluminum block and head, was especially desirable with its 189 hp (141 kW). The M Roadster (see below) appeared in 1998 with a 3.2 L S52B32 (North America) or more powerful S50B32 (International) I6, just as the four was retired. In 1999, the 1.9 L 4-cylinder engine was replaced with a 2.5 L straight-6 M52TUB25, producing 170 hp (130 kW). Due to marketing, BMW wanted to differentiate the 2.8 L engine from the 2.5 L engine, so it was badged 2.3 just like the 3-Series 323i, which also has a 2.5 L engine. Outside of North America, the 1.9 L 4-cylinder was replaced with a 2.0 L straight-6 in 1999. There have been V8 engines fitted into the Z3 by German tuning companies AC Schnitzer (4.4L in roadster version, no series production) and Hartge (5.0L in Coupé version, titled Hartge Z3 MQP V8). BMW also released a Z3 coupé featuring a chassis-stiffening rear hatch area, though the Shooting-brake styling this gave was controversial. The coupé was available as the Z3 Coupé from 1999 to 2002 or as the BMW Motorsport-enhanced M Coupé from 1999 to 2002. The Z3 coupés were only available with the largest 6-cylinder engine offered in the Z3 roadster: the 2.8 L in 1999 and 2000 and the 3.0 L in 2000 for Europe and in 2001 for the US. The 1999 and 2000 M models were equipped with the 3.2 L S50 (S52 for North America) motor from the E36 BMW M3, while all the 2001 and 2002 models came with the S54 motor from the E46 BMW M3.