A large amount of the mechanicals were borrowed from the E30 too, although a completely bespoke chassis and bodyshell caused the price of the Z1 to soar – pushing this 170bhp two-seater to around the same as a basic Porsche 911!

Initial demand was strong, with BMW receiving orders for 3,500 vehicles before production began. However, demand dropped significantly around 1988 and BMW ended production in 1991. There is speculation that the drop in demand was due to the early inflated demand from speculative investors.

BMW built 8000 examples and, of those, just 150 were made for the UK market and featured mph speedos. And this car, according to the record, is build number 148 of those 8000. While the slidey-down doors are the talking point, the Z1 is no more challenging to drive than the 325i from which it borrowed its driveline.

The drivetrain in the Z1 started with a conventional 2.5-liter inline six-cylinder SOHC engine, producing 168 horsepower and 161 pound-feet of torque. This was mated to a 5-speed manual transmission in a traditional front-engine, rear-drive configuration.