Pick of the Day: 1997 BMW Z3

My love for James Bond movies goes back to the start of the Pierce Brosnan era in 1995 and his first 007 movie, Goldeneye. I was in high school and it had been a long time since James Bond had been on screen, the Timothy Dalton era ended in 1989 with License To Kill,  and there were high expectations for this new Bond.

I loved Goldeneye when it came out, that feeling was increased when the video game was released on the Nintendo 64 in 1997, and in the ensuing decades I ended up with 22 007 movies on DVD, and the Ian Fleming novels. After Star Wars, 007 is my favorite movie franchise and I’m starting to get antsy with who will be the next James Bond.  

Cars are major facet of a 007 movie, I’ll always associate Aston Martin with James Bond, and for Goldeneye our man got a BMW. Pierce Brosnan made his debut in Goldeneye and BMW became the first German vehicle to be an official 007 car. For 007 devotees it was a controversial choice. Isn’t Bond supposed to only drive cars from England?

As an up-and-coming car dude and new 007 fan I wasn’t emotionally involved in this car controversy and just enjoyed Goldeneye. As years passed, I understood the issue of changing canon in a movie franchise and how it can irk the fans. Even to this day the inclusion of a BMW as an official James Bond car doesn’t really bother me. I mean, haven’t most of us owned cars produced in various countries?

The Pick of the Day is a 1997 BMW Z3 finished in Atlanta Blue listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Kentwood, Michigan. (Click the link to view the listing)

“The Z3 was marketed even before it was offered to the public in the James Bond film, Goldeneye,” the listing states. “The ahead of its time looks and BMW performance expectations had the entire 1996 model production number sold before they were introduced.”

Goldeneye was the first of the three-film contract that the 007 producers had with BMW. James Bond would drive a 1997 BMW 750iL in the follow up, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and a Z8 in the The World’s Not Enough (1999).

This particular example offered on ClassicCars.com has the same Atlanta Blue exterior, but is lacking in custom upgrades by Q. It’s powered by a 2.8-liter DOHC, 24-valve inline-six engine paired with a five-speed manual transmission. The odometer indicates 47,185 miles.

The seller is asking $18,900 for this Z3 and is a pretty solid deal for a low-mileage BMW in good shape, the front bumper needs some TLC. The Z3 is one of the few cars I can afford that is 007 approved and it was good to see James Bond branch out in his vehicle choice.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.