BMW E36/7 / E36/8

The BMW Z3 was the first modern mass-market roadster produced by BMW, as well as the first new BMW model assembled in the United States. (The very first BMW assembled in the US was the E36/4, 318i that rolled off the Plant Spartanburg assembly line beginning in October 1994.) The Z3 was introduced as a 1996 model year vehicle, shortly after being featured in the James Bond movie, GoldenEye. At that time Karen Sortito created the BMW campaign for the film GoldenEye. Afterwards, while the film was number one at the box office, sales of the car spiked.

There were a few variants of the car before its production run ended in 2002, including a coupé version for 1999. It was manufactured and assembled in Greer, South Carolina. The Z3 was replaced by the BMW Z4 introduced in late 2002 at the Paris Auto Show.

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