Fans of the BMW Z3 are likely to argue that the company's last version, produced in 2002, was its best. Six years of "consistent and conscientious development" and wider acceptance of its "sawed off" appearance made the 2002 Z3 one of BMW's better selling, high performance sports cars.

The engine jumped from the original 138-horsepower 1.9-liter four-cylinder to an available 225-horsepower 3.0-liter six-cylinder, reducing 0 to 60 mph acceleration performance from about 8 seconds to less than 6.

Most of all, the car was built to go fast. "We didn't fully appreciate the Z3 until we drove it fast, and the faster we drove it the more we appreciated it," wrote one professional test driver. "If you want to feel the fantastic smoothness of the BMW inline-six, try 6000 rpm in third gear, at which point you'll be pushing 90."