Z8 named 2001 Car of the Year (archive)

ROBB REPORT NAMES BMW Z8 2001 CAR OF THE YEAR
5. January 2001

Woodcliff Lake , New Jersey, January 5, 2001...The BMW Z8 sports car, latest in a tradition of limited production vehicles built to exemplify the company's passion for performance, handling and style, was named today Robb Report's 2001 Car of the Year. The award, announced at the Greater Los Angeles International Auto Show, is given annually to automobiles priced above $40,000 whose technical designs, styling, and performance position them as the world's best sports and luxury cars.
"Selection of the handsome BMW Z8 was straightforward and uncomplicated", says Daniel J. Phillips, president and CEO of Luxury Media Corporation, publishers of Robb Report. "The Z8 is the modern embodiment of Count Albrecht Goertz's 1955 BMW 507 roadster, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful cars ever built. The Z8's classic elegance, performance and handling, and contemporary technology combine to create a modern legend."

Robb Report evaluates the products of manufacturers that specialize in the production of exclusive, high-performance, thoroughbred automobiles. Each vehicle is judged using a points system based on select criteria including ownership experience, purity of design, ride and handling, build quality, and degree of high-performance luxury. The BMW Z8 was the overriding choice of the magazine's six-judge panel that included Phillips, Robb Report publisher Paul Dean, and contributing writers Ken Gross, Dan Neil, Patrick Paternie and J.P. Vettraino.

The judges' impression of the BMW Z8 were captured by writer J.P. Vettraino who noted that, "designer Henrik Fisker's work honors the sports car's heritage without groveling in front of it, and underneath the beautiful skin is an aluminum space frame as advanced as the underpinnings of many contemporary race cars. There's thorough, precise engineering in the German tradition, but new-millennium electronics and the variable-valve-timing 394-hp V8." He concluded by saying "BMW has built its reputation with fine, driver-oriented sedans. Neither its brand image nor its long-term prosperity hinges on a tiny-volume, truly exotic roadster. Simply put: BMW didn't have to build the Z8..."
"To be named 2001 Car of the Year by Robb Report is a great honor indeed," noted Tom Purves, Chairman and CEO of BMW US Holding Corp. "Being chosen out of a field of outstanding competitors makes it even more significant. The decision to build such an exclusive, low-volume sports car is vindicated by accolades such as this."

--end--

Follow Ups:

thanks for the info Z8Mania 06:39 1/06/2001 (0)

[ Follow Ups ] [ Z8 Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]

Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.