1998 BMW Z3 Roadster M spec review from UK and Ireland

Nothing yet.

Finished in M blue with 17 inch alloys and 245 rear tyres, the muscular appearance of this Z3 shakes off the slightly girly image of its four cylinder cousins.

The 2.8 straight six is a real beast of an engine. 200hp and 206lbs of torque leave the latest wave of hot hatches in its wake.

Spec is superb with M steering wheel, hide seats both heated and powered. electric hood and trip computer. intrior plain solid BMW. nothing exciting, but timeless.

Awesome dry grip from 245 rear / 225 front tyres. a handful trying to put the power down in the wet, not even the standard stability and traction save you if you floor it in 2nd on the exit of a roundabout!

A bit shaky on bumpy roads, but this is more down to the bigger wheels than body rigidity. not as stiff as my previous MX5 but the mazda had a frustrating surplus of grip over power. it had a decent 146hp, but only 125lbs of torque which led to a fare share of abandoned overtaking attempts on b roads. still a great car though...

It was embarassing how easily I beat a boy racer in his tinny Mini Cooper S with a mere 163hp and a laughable 155lbs of torque. Italian Job? you would need a Works to stand a chance of getting away!

Bring on the S2000. A very nice looking car with a hand built engine and quality that shames a Boxter. The only problem is the complete lack of torque from its 4 cylinder engine. It did eventually catch up after its driver managed to wring 9000rpm out of its admittedly glorious engine. then it seemed to back off out of respect.

Next a Caterham 7. this must have been one of the lower engined variants, but you forego all the comforts of a modern roadster with the assumption that you are going to blow everything on the road away. acceleration to 70 was evenly matched, then the caterhams poor aerodynamics allowed me to steam past, and forge further ahead.

Audi TTs offer a close race in 225hp form, but are starting to look dated and are as dull as dishwater in silver. they also sound about as sporty as jo brand.

The best thing about the Z3 is the glorious sound of the big six howling as you accelerate. the biggest surprise is the fuel economy which averages almost 30mpg despite hard driving. 6mpg more than I used to get out of the MX5!

It is not as pure a sports car as a Boxter, but in parts of cheshire these are as common as a focus, and the z3 feels more exclusive and individual. don't get me wrong, if you gave me a new boxter I would gladly accept, then I would sell it, pocket 20 grand and search for a 15 grand Z3!