We Digitally Transformed The 2001 BMW Z3 M Coupe From Clown Shoe To Wicked Wagon

Now, it’s not lost on us that taste is subjective. There have been plenty of polarizing car designs throughout the years, and BMW’s design team certainly are no stranger to backlash. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many who call the BMW Z3M Coupe “beautiful”.

In truth, though, it was never meant to be. The Z3M Coupe was an after-hours passion project led by BMW Research and Development Chief Burkhard Göschel to create the best driving sports car possible. While styling wasn’t a priority, in an interview with MotorTrend, Göschel says he loves how the Z3M looks, comparing it favorably to a Porsche 911 Turbo S.

Meanwhile, fans affectionately refer to the Z3M Coupe as the ‘clown shoe’ or ‘bread van’, although there was nothing funny about its performance. Our exclusive render by digital artist Rostislav Prokop gives the oddball hot hatchback the super wagon treatment, turning this Bavarian performance car into a four-seater shooting brake.

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Developed In Secret, The Z3M Coupe’s Design Split Opinion Within BMW

2001 BMW Z3M Coupe Specifications

(figures courtesy of BMW M/classic.com)

The transformation from the Z3 Roadster to the Z3 Coupe was never originally in BMW’s plans. After Mazda launched the Miata in 1989, BMW saw consumers once again in the market for a simple, lightweight roadster, and the development of the Z3 began in 1991. BMW’s Research and Development Chief at the time, Burkhard Göschel, was the head of the Z3 program and quickly realized that the car had far more performance potential than a convertible alone could offer.

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Unfortunately for Burkhard, the BMW board would not greenlight the development of a Z3 coupe. Undeterred, Burkhard managed to keep hold of a few early roadster prototypes and assembled an off-book Skunkworks engineering team to develop the car in secret. Fitting a roof to improve structural rigidity was the priority; however, the final result does look like someone just plonked the top of a van on top of a Z3 roadster.

Supposedly, BMW board members thought the Z3 Coupe was too ugly and wouldn’t sell, with one executive completely speechless when he first saw the design, according to Jalopnik. Still, Burkhard and his team were confident in the Z3M coupe’s performance and convinced the higher-ups at Munich to put the car into limited production despite concerns about the cars’ looks.

This BMW Z3M Coupe Gets Practical With More Seats And More Doors

BMW Z3M Coupe Render Key Details

• The BMW Z3M Coupe was designed in secret as BMW executives initially rejected the proposal
• Göschel’s small team convinced execs to go ahead with the Coupe on the condition that production costs remained as low as possible
• The controversial styling was a result of cost-cutting, with fans naming the car the ‘clown shoe’
• Our render turns the gawky hatchback into a small 5-door wagon with a longer wheelbase and four seats
• BMW was late to the fast wagon market and arguably never recovered, with Audi and Mercedes establishing their space in the 90s and early 2000s

As unusual as the proportions of the Z3M Coupe are, it still retains plenty of the classic BMW stylistic elements that many enthusiasts lament the demise of in BMW’s modern design direction. Compared to the standard Z3 roadster, the Z3M Coupe (and M roadster) had much wider front and rear fenders and a wider track to fill the blistered arches.

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The M variants also had sportier front and rear bumpers, more streamlined wing mirrors, and, a first for a BMW M car, quad rear tailpipes. One of BMW’s main stipulations before greenlighting production of the Z3M Coupe was that it remained as cost-efficient as possible, so the roadster and coupe share identical parts from the doors and A-pillar forward.

The original car is infamous for its boxy silhouette and short wheelbase, but our render has added some length to the party. The Z3M Wagon, as we’ll call it, now has space for four, with the addition of two rear seats. The wheelbase has been significantly stretched, as has the roofline. The door count has gone up to four, with the rear doors cleverly integrated into the rear arches with a stealthy vertical door handle.

The Z3M Coupe was infamous for being tricky at the limit, particularly in wet conditions, so the longer wheelbase will undoubtedly help with stability. The overall look is something between a sports wagon and a mini hearse, but still, now the family can enjoy some rear-wheel drive sideways fun.

BMW Would Need To Compensate For The Z3M Wagon’s Added Bulk

While turning the Z3M Coupe into a wagon does have some of the aforementioned upsides, it does come with some caveats. The main of which would be the added weight, something that BMW M’s engineers worked tirelessly to mitigate with the Z3M Coupe. Early versions of the Z3M, both coupe and roadster, came with BMW’s S52 straight-six engine lifted from the E36 M3. Later versions, however, came with BMW’s 3.2-liter S54 inline-six motor, producing 315 hp and 251 lb-ft of torque in U.S. spec.

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The S54 used in the 2001-02 Z3M was a de-tuned version of the E46 BMW M3, and while power figures were similar to prior models, the engine’s more advanced design and six individual throttle bodies meant that engine response and linearity were a big step up.

To compensate for the added bulk, it would make sense for BMW to use the best S54 in its arsenal. Ideally, the wagon would adopt the full-fat 343 hp S54 from the M3 or even the engine from the E46 M3 CSL if it had been developed a few years earlier.

Another cost-cutting measure BMW engineers took was to use suspension components from prior models, particularly the suspension. The front suspension is a McPherson strut assembly lifted from the E36 M3 Evo, while in the rear, the Z3M took the rather antiquated semi-trailing arm suspension from the old E30 M3. The change in wheelbase would require brand-new suspension geometry, so fitting more advanced springs and dampers, particularly at the back, would help the wagon retain its fantastic handling capabilities.

A Z3M Wagon Could Have Completely Changed The Fast Wagon Market

Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but if BMW had released a Z3M Wagon back in 2001, then the automotive world, particularly in Germany, could look entirely different. Audi had already begun to corner the fast wagon marketplace with the introduction of the RS2 Avant in 1994 and soon established synonymity with their B5 and B7 RS4.

Mercedes, too, began building AMG wagons in the early 2000s with their E55 AMG wagon. Other than the rare M5 Touring, BMW seemed to have an aversion to making fast wagons. Despite the E36 and E46 3-series having an estate body option, BMW never built an M3 wagon, aside from one prototype E46 M3 Touring in 2000. If the Bavarians had got their foot in the door earlier, even with a Z3M Wagon, then we may have seen far more Touring M cars over the years, probably at Audi’s expense.

Source: HotCars, BMW M, classic.com, Jalopnik, Motor Trend