List of all classic BMW vehicles: 1980-2000

BMW Serie 5 E28 sedan.
1981–1988

The BMW E28 is a BMW 5 Series saloon. It is the second generation of the BMW 5 Series and replaced its predecessor E12 in autumn 1981. The successor to the E28 is the E34, produced from autumn 1987. BMW produced the E28 between April 1981 and December 1987 at BMW’s Dingolfing plant and from 1985 to 1989 at the Rosslyn plant. A total of 14 different E28 models were offered, with some models reserved for specific markets. A total of 722,328 E28s rolled off the production line, with the 520i, 528e, 528i and 524td models making up around two-thirds of production.

BMW Serie 7 E32 series sedan.
1986–1994

The BMW E32 is a premium saloon of the BMW 7 Series and was introduced in September 1986. A year after the market launch with six-cylinder engines, the 750i variant with the twelve-cylinder M70 engine arrived. The E32 was designed by the then chief designer Claus Luthe and Ercole Spada. In June 1994, the E32 was replaced by the E38, after some 310,000 units had been produced.

BMW Serie 5 E34 series  sedan, wagon.
1988–1996

BMW E34 is the name given to the third generation of the BMW 5 Series. The official presentation to dealers and journalists took place in January 1988. Like its predecessor, the E28, the E34 series belonged to the upper mid-range. The appearance of the E34, created under the direction of chief designer Claus Luthe and drawn by Ercole Spada, was based on the 7 Series saloons of the E32 series. From September 1991, a second body variant, the Touring, became available.

A total of 1,331,056 units were built.

BMW Z1 convertible.
1989–1991

The BMW Z1 was introduced in 1987 and was designed by BMW as an exercise in image and technology. The factory code was E30 (Z).
The BMW subsidiary BMW Technik GmbH, founded in 1985, was responsible for the planning and execution of the project. The designers were Ulrich Bez and Harm Lagaay. Between early 1989 and mid-1991, exactly 8,000 Z1s were built in a limited series. Daily production was initially a maximum of six vehicles.

BMW Serie 8 E31 coupe.
1989–1999

The BMW 8 Series (E31) is a luxury coupé created under the direction of BMW chief designer Claus Luthe. It was officially presented at the IAA in Frankfurt in the summer of 1989 and was produced until mid-1999.

The body shape was designed by Klaus Kapitza, who later became head of design at BMW Technik GmbH. The front end was based on that of the M1. The E31’s main competitors were the C 126 and C 140 coupé models of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The 8 Series was only available as a coupé. Prototypes of a cabriolet version were developed, but lacked the stability required for this type of vehicle.

The technology and engines came partly from the 7 Series, the E32. Later, newer engines from the 5 Series and the E38 were gradually introduced.

BMW Z3 E36/7, E36/8 convertible and coupe. 1995–2002

The BMW Z3 is a sports car from the German car manufacturer BMW. The two-seater roadster was introduced to the market in autumn 1995. In the summer of 1998, the coupé variant was launched.

In April 1999, both the roadster and coupé underwent a model update. The engine line-up ranged from a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine with 115 hp to a 3.2-litre six-cylinder engine with 325 hp.

By 5 July 2002, 279,273 roadsters and 17,815 coupés had rolled off the production line at BMW US Manufacturing Company, LLC in Greer, South Carolina (USA). The Z3 bears the internal designation E36/7 for the roadster and E36/8 for the coupé (E36/7S or E36/8S for the racing models). It is based on the platform of the E36 Compact and shares the rear axle and parts of the passenger compartment with it

BMW Serie 7 E38 sedan.
1994–2001

The E38 series is the third generation of the BMW 7 Series and was introduced in June 1994 as the successor to the BMW E32. The BMW E38 was the first car from a European manufacturer to be offered with a navigation system ex-factory. Up to July 2001, 327,598 units were produced at BMW’s Dingolfing plant. Successor models were the E65, E66, E67 and E68.

BMW Serie 5 E39 sedan and wagon.
1995–2003

The E39 series is the fourth generation of the BMW 5 Series and was introduced in December 1995 as the successor to the E34 series. The estate model, known as the Touring, followed in March 1997, and the sporty M5 model in autumn 1998. In total, more than 1.48 million units of the E39 were sold, including some 266,000 Touring models. The saloon was produced until mid-2003, the Touring continued to roll off the production line until early 2004 when they were successively replaced by the E60/E61 series.

E46 3 Series sedan, coupe, convertible, wagon and hatchback. 1998–2006

The E46 series is the fourth 3-series of the BMW automobile manufacturer and was introduced to the public in March 1998 as the successor to the E36 series.

Production of the E46 models took place mainly at the Munich-Milbertshofen plant and at the plants in Leipzig, Regensburg and Rosslyn (South Africa).

As usual for BMW, it was initially marketed as a saloon only, with six-cylinder (M52TU) and four-cylinder (M43TU) petrol engines and a newly developed four-cylinder diesel engine (M47). With the M47, BMW sold a diesel engine with direct injection for the first time. Safety equipment on all models includes anti-lock brakes (ABS), traction control (ASC+T), cornering brake control, electronic brake-force distribution and six airbags as standard.

BMW Z8 E52  convertible.
1999–2003

The BMW Z8 (internal model E52) is a sports car produced by German automaker BMW from March 2000 to July 2003.
The design with the wide BMW kidney and side air intakes, inspired by the BMW 507 roadster produced from 1956 to 1959, was created by Henrik Fisker. The interior was designed by Mike Ninic and Bruno Amatino, the steering wheel by David Carp. Under the direction of Adrian van Hooydonk and David Carp, in close coordination with designers Fisker and Ninic, a concept car was produced under the designation Z 07 which has a high degree of similarity to the design of the production model.

Model history
The Z 07 concept car was shown at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show and the 1998 Detroit Motor Show. The production version of the car was unveiled at the 1999 IAA.
Between March 2000 and July 2003, 5703 examples were produced in handcrafted form (555 vehicles based on the Z8 were sold by the car manufacturer Alpina).