I’m back after taking a couple of weeks off to go to some flying events. Flew some fun stuff and saw lots of cool stuff. Now I have a great find to share.
Looking to separate themselves from traditional marketing tactics, automakers have many times used movies to create buzz for a car before it even hits the showroom floor. This week’s spot, a 1996 BMW Z3, is a perfect example.
Up until this point, every James Bond movie had featured British sports cars like Aston Martins, but in the 1995 film GoldenEye, his ride was a brand new BMW Z3, driven by Pierce Brosnan. The blue roadster featured Stinger missiles behind the headlights and a radar system. The car can be seen twice in the movie GoldenEye. During the mission in GoldenEye, Bond didn’t get the chance to use the Z3 much, and eventually traded it for a small plane.
BMW North America, Inc. and mail-order firm Neiman Marcus worked together to launch the BMW Z3 special edition “007 JAMES BOND” in the 1995 Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog. Along with the car, the buyer would receive 2 tickets for a GoldenEye dinner party in LA or NY with Pierce Brosnan. Originally, BMW and Neiman Marcus had set a 20-unit sales goal over the 3,5 month Christmas selling period. In two days, 100 Z3 orders were placed, so BMW agreed to increase the total production to 100 units. One of those is now in the hands of Michiganders Dave and Jill Ferry.
Dave became a Bond fan later in life, but once he did was hooked and stumbled across the ad in the Neiman Marcus catalogue. He was instantly on the hunt for one of these beauties and tracked one down in Kentucky, in the hands of its original owners. There were e-mails and phone calls exchanged before he finally got them to agree to part with this piece of Bond history. But why not just go out and get a blue BMW Z3? There are differences.
The Neiman Marcus Edition amounted to differences from a stock Z3 that were mostly trim. Wood inlays and 007 logos decorate the interior, while a chrome windshield surround and luggage rack shined up the exterior along with custom wheels. These changes deviate the car’s look from the screen-used Z3 seen in the film, but are certainly of interest to more affluent collectors such as the Ferrys.
They even got to display it in the James Bond Collection, currently at The Automobile Gallery of Green Bay, and it was an adventure even getting it there, as days before they were supposed to leave, it developed a leak in the clutch. Dave had to do a lot of calling around first to see if it could be fixed and to meet his deadline to leave for Green Bay. A garage came through, but not wanting to go through Chicago, Dave and Jill opted to take the Lake Express Ferry and made it in time.
Dave was more than happy to share all the special items that came with this roadster, stored in the included luggage attached to its special carrier. There are the ads, the Neiman Marcus catalogue, a DVD and VHS of the movie, and even the original window sticker.
RELATED Spot: From The Man with The Golden Gun, the flying AMC Matador.
Too bad we didn’t see the Z3 more in Goldeneye, but the one scene that stands out to me is where Bond drives Natalya down the Caribbean coastline, which does a wonderful job conveying the blissful open-air experience that comes from driving a responsive roadster on a summer day.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out this week’s find. I’ll be back next Sunday for another one of my finds, along with some of its history. Like, Comment, Share this post, and be sure to check out my others. Have a great week ahead.
Savage On Wheels 
Leave a comment