If you’re a truly ingrained BMW fan, there’s a sold chance you know the name Andreas Bovensiepen. He’s the top dog at ALPINA, a BMW tuning shop that just recently became officially part of the BMW mothership. But before helming ALPINA, Bovensiepen spent time working for BMW as an engineer. In an interview with YouTube channel MotoManTV Podcast, he shared some interesting tales from one of the most desirable modern BMWs ever: the BMW Z8.
Z8 Development: More M Than Anticipated
Bovensiepen gives a unique perspective on the Z8 development process. He says that the car was a BMW AG project, rather than a BMW M project, which might seem confusing to those who know the car is essentially an E39 M5 underneath the sheet metal. It all started with the aluminum space frame, he says, which was “new for BMW, but quite expensive.” Definitely something you might expect out of BMW M. Furthermore, the Z8 initially began life with a 4.4-liter V8 making just 286 horsepower or so. We have to imagine he’s talking about the M62B44, which was a far cry from the modified M62 ALPINA ended up using. Or, of course, the 4.9-liter M-tuned S62 V8 engine the BMW Z8 shipped with. “But then it became clear it needed more horsepower,” he continues, so “they put in the engine of the M5, E39, the 400 horsepower engine.”
Bovensiepen goes on to explain that apparently, accountants weren’t keen on the cost of putting in E39 M5 running gear. But he claimed the costs saved in R&D would more than cover the difference. BMW’s concerns extended to the possibility of replacing customer gearboxes. “An M5 customer is on much higher mileage than a Z8 customer,” Bovensiepen says. But In essence: if the configuration works in a mass-produced model like the M5, it’ll certainly last for a low volume, high dollar specialty series.
How the Z8 Got Through — and What it Cost
As we’ve previously reported, E52 Z8 history largely begins with an abandoned 5 Series convertible project. Bovensiepen recounts a mostly similar story, with the Fisker-penned retro Z8 concept largely being in the right place at the right time. As far as cost to develop? Bovensiepen skirts a firm dollar amount. “The part cost were quite high,” he says, “but the development costs and tooling costs were quite low.” He says this was “more or less, the secret to get this project realized.” Bovensiepen ends by saying that the BMW bean counters endlessly fought with one of the Z8’s biggest proponents, Wolfgang Reitzle. But even after countless fights, “finally, like that, everybody was happy to have this cool project,” Bovensiepen says. We know we’re on that list.
Source: MotoManTV Podcast
