I suppose that's a fair question. First off, what is a Clownshoe? The Z3 is a pretty recognizable BMW. In fact to me, the look is destined to be iconic. Most people know what they are, and at first glance would recognize one. It's a proper roadster of course. Front engine, rear-drive, long hood, short trunk, top down, hair blowing in the wind, the driver sitting nearly over the rear wheels. That's the only way they built them. You know...a Roadster. Right? Wrong!!
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| Our 1996 Z3 at the 2015 Euro Auto Festival in Greenville, SC |
Back in the mid-nineties, a group of BMW designers decided that in order to make a Z3 handle better, it needed to be torsionally stiffer. If you've driven one, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Navigating a Z3 roadster over a bumpy road invokes images of a super slow motion film of a boxer's face being hit by a punch. You know the one...the glove hits, sending ripples of flesh in all directions. Waves propagating and then colliding in opposite directions. In fact, if Max Planck drove a Z3 back in the late1800's, he might not have ever thought up his particle theory.
How, pray tell, did these masters of design create a chassis 2.7 times stiffer than that of the roadster? Why they made a station wagon...um hatchback...uh shooting brake out of it. The exercise resembled somewhat of a Frankenstein's monster creation. Meaner, stronger and well...uglier than the Z3 roadster. This creation was never marketed. The Coupe as they called it, actually languished on showroom floors unsold. The shape was deemed "awkward" to put it nicely. Some called it downright ugly. Only 2,071 examples made it to the US market in the Z3 form, and another 2,858 made it to the states in the wilder ///M version.
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| You can see where the "Clownshoe" reference comes from. |
It's been more than 15 years now. and this car has gained a cult following. The rarity of the car certainly makes it a future classic, and personally, I think it is beautiful! Take a look at the rear quarter panels. You'd be hard pressed to find such an aggressive shape on any car with the exception of the Porsche 911 Turbo. Sure, the long hood, coupled with the hatchback form do give the impression of a Converse Chuck Taylor high-top. Perhaps even the footwear of the happy-go-lucky, Irish representative of the infamous "Golden Arches". Hence...the clownshoe. I guess it also doesn't help to reduce the stigma of awkwardness when the West Coast annual gathering of Z3 Coupes is called the "Dorkfest".
