Now and again, BMW’s design boss takes us on a visit down reminiscence lane by dusting off obscure idea vehicles from days passed by. The most recent (virtually) forgotten showcar to make the social media rounds is the Z13, a unusual little hatchback unveiled on the 1993 Geneva Motor Present. Trying like an i3 from the Nineteen Nineties, town automobile was developed by BMW Technik GmbH.

The identical proficient workforce that dropped at life the Z1 roadster within the late Eighties created this petite hatch with a central driver’s seat and two passenger seats behind it, à la McLaren F1. The oddball Z13 had a rear mid-engine setup with an inline-four producing 82 hp. That may not sound like a lot however the idea – which was really a completely practical prototype – weighed simply 830 kilograms (1,830 kilos).

It’s believed the engine got here from a K1100 motorbike and labored with a repeatedly variable transmission (CVT) borrowed from Ford. Actually not the prettiest automobile to have the well-known BMW roundel, the Z13 sipped simply 5-6 liters of gasoline each 62 miles (100 kilometers) due to its light-weight building with an aluminum spaceframe chassis. That’s a outstanding 39 to 47 miles per gallon.

Regardless of being a diminutive automobile, it was capable of accommodate skies as much as two meters (almost 79 inches) lengthy. The Z13 will go down in historical past as BMW’s first automobile with satellite tv for pc navigation, a 12 months earlier than manufacturing fashions started to obtain this helpful function we now take as a right. It additionally got here with a phone and a fax machine, which should’ve been cool options to have again then.

Legend has it the Z13 was constructed by Italian coachbuilder Stola moderately than BMW and there was a second automobile painted in crimson. That one allegedly had a extra highly effective engine, a five-speed handbook transmission, and a extra spacious inside. Talking of the cabin, the bizarre little BMW was engineered with an electrical parking brake.

There have been apparently plans to place the Z13 into manufacturing however with BMW shopping for Mini in 1994, there was no want for it anymore.

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