Two roadsters-40 odd years apart... [PIC]

It was an American foreign car importer, Max Hoffman, who, in 1954, convinced BMW to produce a sporty roadster as a middle ground between the powerful Mercedes 300SL and underpowered Triumph and MG. Between 1956 and 1960, BMW produced only 252 of their model 507 roadster using their 3.2 L V8 from their large sedan. The 1st generation (34 built) had a large aluminum gas tank mounted behind the rear seats that restricted both seating and boot size and also filled the cabin with gas fumes with the top up. In the 2nd gen, a smaller tank was fitted under the boot and around the spare tire well.

Flash forward to 1998 when BMW released the "spiritual successor" to the 507 -  the Z8. 5703 Z8s were built up to 2002 and featured a 395 hp 4.9 L V8 built by BMW Motorsport. The car was completely hand built so BMW had to promise a 50 year inventory of parts as an incentive to potential buyers. As a movie car, it made Bond's DB5 look rather stodgy. The 507 is an old Revell model and the Z8 is by Kyosho. I facetiously told my daughter I'd buy her a BMW when she graduated from the US Merchant Marine Academy. So on that day, I presented her with that Z8 model.