Meet Miles and his Z4 Sport Coupe, affectionately known as “The ZED”. We were fortunate enough to be chosen to complete a photoshoot on The ZED after taking some photos of Miles’ car at the South West Retros Coffee & Cars meet at The Boho Bakery in Stroud.
What do you do to fund your vehicle?
Aerospace technician!
What got you into the Automotive World?
Growing up I was like any typical young lad into cars from a very young age I regularly dreamt of owning a Ferrari 355, Jaguar XJ220 or even an E-type! Many games of top trumps with my mates. Of course, these were far reached dreams even as a kid lol. My dad is who really got me into cars as he was always tinkering with his Reliant Scimitar GTE he taught me all the basics “right tool for the right job” “ lefty loosy righty tighty”. Not only on the mechanical side of things but also looking after their condition.
Over they years I have owned many cars from an MI16 BX 16 valve, a Polo GTI with Nitro Oxide and as a typical young drive loved attending the cruise on a Sunday night. In the last 5 or 6 years I have taken a greater interest in the car detailing groups and attended many courses to be able to repair/correct paintwork and be able to bring dull unloved paint back to life. Moving on to today, that interest has evolved into an obsession with my current car, safe wash processes, perfectly corrected paint and now only will be used on a dry day with no chance of rain and for only 4 months of the year with the remainder of the year spend dry stored.
I have always liked unusual cars, I wanted a Z3M Coupe but never had the chance to own one. The body shape is like Marmite you either love it or hate it but it *fugly* looks is one of the biggest attractions of the car to me.
BMW Z4 3.0SI Sport Coupe
I bought the car in May 2021, I spent a long time looking for the right car like we all do. It had to be low mileage for its age and show that it has been looked after. When I found the car it was priced well and the seller had room for negotiation so I jump at the chance and fell in love with it straight away! After about an hour of back and fourth I got it for a great price which left me room to invest in a TLC to get it to where I wanted. Biggest investment so far has been good maintenance. New set of performance tyres all round and a proper service which included the box and diff (BMW so say life time oil) every fluid was changed Differential, Gear box and box filters, Engine oil, coolant, brake fluid.
Vehicle Specification
Interesting Subject! Roughly 2200 made it in RHD to the UK and with individual spec available from BMW there were numerous interior options, paint etc. I traced the spec of my car through an online database using the Individual options; Paint colour, 6 speed synctronic box, individual leather, brushed Aluminium dash etc to find how many were the same in the UK…..turns out its 1 of 1 in the UK which is pretty cool
Modifications/Alterations
The car has had a number some subtle changes done to it. 19 inch Finichi spilt rim’s, Koni top adjustable dampers with Ibach springs, full stainless exhaust system. The 6 speed box has been mapped to a stage 3 fast road pack that dramatically changes how the car drives an improves performance with gear change speed that couldn’t be achieved in a manual.
Future Plans
I will continue to to bring the car to the best condition I can, the Leather interior is going to be restored and the brushed dash inserts will be replaced with new other than that just any small individual improvements that can bring it back concourse condition.
Special Mentions & Shoutouts
- UK Z4 owners club a wealth of knowledge for every eventualit
- South West Retro’s for the regular meets where everyone can share in their passion.
- Dan and Jamie at Turner Race Developments who are a performance car specialist and take pride in their work with every detail done correct and to the book.
