BMW celebrates 75 years of building roadsters

We generally think of BMW as the maker of some of the world's best sports sedans, but its put out some impressive roadsters over the years. Seventy-five years to be exact. The Bavarian auto manufacturer has been producing two-door open-seaters for three quarters of a century now, starting with 315/1 Sports model that was unveiled at the 1934 Berlin Motor Show followed by the more powerful 319/1. Two legendary roadsters came next, starting with the 328 Roadster in 1936 that was bred on the Nurburgring, and the classically-styled 507 in the late 1950's that inspired the next half century of BMW two-door ragtops.

It was nearly 30 years before BMW produced another roadster, and it came in the form of the Z1 that launched in 1988. The quirky roadster featured plastic body panels that bolted onto the steel monocoque body and doors that could retract into the side of the car. In 1995 BMW brought the roadster to the masses with the Z3, followed by the modern day Z4 that's just begun its second generation. Then, of course, there is the elegant Z8. Perhaps our favorite of all BMW's roadsters, it offered everything we would ever want from a sporty two-door convertible: a 400 horsepower V8, six-speed manual transmission, and a design that will never go out of style.
BMW has provided a wonderful gallery of photos highlighting each car, all available in high resolution. More details on each roadster can also be found in the press release here.