This beautiful vehicle is already a classic. It was the first non-British sports car featured in a James Bond movie, GoldenEye (although an Aston Martin did put in a cameo appearance). The vehicle for sale is in perfect mechanical condition, and the body is 99.9% perfect -- a few tiny chips, but perfectly straight, well maintained, and mostly garaged. I am selling it because my heart is really in another era. I've bought a beautiful 1978 Datsun 280Z as my primary automobile.
This car comes with a rare, $3000 removable hardtop (a factory option for the 1998 model year, only custom installed thereafter). The hardtop is easily removed by a single person (with a garage hoist, included) in approx. 5 min. It can also be removed easily by two people without a hoist in the same time. Once the hardtop is removed, the soft top can be raised or lowered, as with any other Z3 roadster. The hardtop creates a quieter and better climate-controlled cabin, improves aerodynamics, and prevents deterioration of the soft top while in use. It also has an electrical defroster for the rear window.
This has always been a non-smoking car, driven by mature drivers. It has only 70,000 original miles and purrs like a panther. It has the largest available engine, apart from the racing-class M version, and it delivers more acceleration and sure-footed agility than you would ever care to use.
We regret this particular vehicle does not come equipped with Q's standard equipment package (bulletproof panels, oil slick, smoke screen, machine guns, stinger missiles, rotating licence plates, a self-destruct mechanism, and of course the obligatory passenger ejector seat). Even so, you'll feel like James (or Jane) Bond when you're behind its wheel. ;-)
Here are a few more details:
Photos:
A quick follow-up for my BMW enthusiast friends: It's been a good while since I sold the Z3. It was a wonderful and fun little car! However, my automotive "first love" -- the first car I ever adored, was a 1975 Datsun 280Z. My ex made me sell it back in the early 1990's, before it quite had a chance to become an antique under my ownership. I still miss that car. However, I decided recently to buy another Z -- this time a 1978. The car is in very good shape, and I'm of course showering it with TLC to get it into "great" shape. Here's a fairly bad photo of my Mustang, my Z3, and my 280Z when they all crossed paths.
I've now sold the Z3 and the Mustang and own just the 280Z and my old 1992 Saturn SL-2, which I bought new (also a great little car). I'm very proud that the brands of my two cars no longer exist!
Some may wonder how I could sell my Z3 to buy an antique 280Z. After all, the Z3 can run circles around the 280Z, and it's cute as a button! However, the 280Z is a "my generation" car, and I have to say I think it's drop-dead sexy. Both cars have something unusual in common, and it was probably the final selling point that led me to buy the Z3. Both have inline-6 engines, and I'm "gaga" over that engine design! :-) Anyway, I love my little 280Z. We're a very good fit for each other.