If the BMW Z8 looks like nothing you've ever seen from the German automaker, we're not surprised.

Today, BMW is known as one of the top purveyors of clean but mostly anodyne designs on sedans, coupes, and a whole heap of SUVs. But the sumptuous curves and art-deco touches on the Z8 look like something out of a designer's fever-dream sketchbook. Really, it looks like a modern interpretation of a car from the 1950s or 1960s.

The popularity of the concept spurred BMW's decision to produce a limited production model called the Z8 (5,703 built). The vehicle was featured in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999), as well as the video-games 007 Racing (2000), James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (2001) and the DLC Best of Bond Car (2018).

Riding on a bespoke aluminum chassis and framework robed in an all-aluminum body, the Z8 incorporated the contemporary E39 M5's 4.9-liter S62 V-8 and six-speed manual transmission. Output of 395 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque was enough for a claimed 0-62 mph sprint of 4.7 seconds, though instrumented tests in the period dropped those times to the low four-second range. As was the case with most German cars of the era, top speed was capped at a relatively low 155 mph.