Type IV

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Chasing rust was one of the reasons I finally let the 2002 go, in 1999. It was only surface rust, but an harbinger of things to come.

It also needed paint and some reupholstery (the vinyl seats would split when their underpinnings started to sag). More work than my budget could justify at the time, and the cars were worth nothing then.

This was before the interwebs, and my only option for selling was an ad in the local paper. After two weeks, I got one offer. It was mechanically nearly perfect, with a recent engine rebuild.

Let it go for $1500.

I don’t even want to know what happened with the latest version of the Z4

They advertize it as a "luxury roadster".  Just this model year you can get it with a six speed manual transmission (Handschalter).  Would love to swap my Miata ND on one - but they are very heavy (3500 #)- in cost too at around $65k! (Note - the Toyota Supra is a Z4 with a coupe skin - same engine but different transmission - and slightly less $ but no convertible!)

Z3 with four cylinders were sports cars*, kinda. Of course nothing that weighs a ton and a half or more qualifies. One would have to be daft, or addled by petrol fumes, to think some 3400-pound hippo were a “sports car.”

*albeit 350 lbs too heavy

It's a good thing a 6-cyl Z3 weighs 2900 lbs then, huh?

Last month we stopped walking to chat with a neighbor. Parked on street were two BMW 2002s. I asked who they belonged to and she said her husband (80 yo) had been planning on fixing them up for 20 years and she put her foot down. She said he had another one under a tarp in back of the house and they were all waiting to be picked up.

Another neighbor had inquired first and they had GIVEN all three cars to her. Arrrgh!!!

at some point though every car from that area no matter how good it looks requires a full restoration à la Marty … So it should be definitely something that you liked, and maybe even drove because after six years of restoration if you found out it wasn’t the one you have a challenge.

@Stan Galat posted:

It's a good thing a 6-cyl Z3 weighs 2900 lbs then, huh?

No! It’s bad actually! Too much weight and too much power.

(the ‘97 Z3 2.8 was 2700-something)

edit: here’s a proper sports car https://bringatrailer.com/list..._campaign=2024-12-27

-with the caveat of course that swapping in a big block Chevy v8 with twin turbos would be an immense improvement!