Reporting " Asre Khodro", according to RM Sotheby’s listing, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison convinced Jobs to get a Z8 by telling the Apple boss that it was the pinnacle of auto engineering at the time. Apparently, Jobs was convinced because he took delivery of his silver Z8 with a black leather interior on October 6, 2000. It was the 67th example that BMW had assembled for customers. It’s funny today to think of Jobs using the archaic looking BMW-branded Motorola car phone seven years before the iPhone revolutionized the mobile market.
Steve Jobs 2000 BMW Z8 Auction

The Z8 was BMW’s halo product at the time. It featured a retro-modern design taking cues from the late 1950s BMW 507. The roadster used the 4.9-liter V8 from the contemporary M5 and a six-speed manual. During the production run, BMW reportedly built 5,703 of them, including 2,543 for export to the United States. Later, Alpina took over production with some mechanical tweaks like adding an automatic gearbox and produced 555 more.

The roadster had an interesting ownership after Jobs, too. The second owner acquired the roadster in 2003 and sold it about a year later. However, the person regretted the decision and convinced the buyer to sell the Z8 back in April 2006. The second (and technically fourth) owner kept the car until this sale.

This Z8 has received meticulous service throughout its life, according to RM Sotheby’s. This sale includes the original hardtop, the stand for it, car cover, all of the manuals, and more.

RM Sotheby’s will auction Jobs’ Z8 with no reserve at its New York Icons in Manhattan on December 6. The firm’s estimate puts the sale price between $300,000 and $400,000.

Source: RM Sotheby's