The country to receive the second-greatest number of Z1s, Italy, received less than 7% of the total sold domestically. BMW Z1 vehicles officially imported to France for sale there have yellow headlights instead of the clear ones found elsewhere. Initial demand was strong, with BMW receiving orders for 3,500 vehicles before production began. However, demand dropped significantly around 1988 and BMW ended production in 1991. There is speculation that the drop in demand was due to the early inflated demand from speculative investors. In 1988, however, BMW was quoted as saying that they had 35,000 orders for the Z1. BMW was reportedly unable to build more than 10 to 20 Z1 vehicles each day. More than half of all Z1 vehicles (specifically, 4,091) were produced for the 1990 model year. Seventy-eight Z1 vehicles were reportedly used as test mules, although most were later sold without a warranty and, presumably, at a lower price. The Z1 was available in six exterior colours and four interior colours. Red is the most common exterior color. Most (6,177) were red, black, or green with a dark grey interior. Light yellow exterior (fun-gelb in German or fun yellow in English; 133 examples made) or red interior (38 examples made) are the rarest Z1 colours. The colours swimming pool blue and oh-so-orange were reserved for the car's designers, Ulrich Bez and Harm Lagaay. Film and television appearances The Z1 was featured in an episode of Wheeler Dealers in 2014. They bought the car as a non-standard yellow and returned the car back to a red colour. It was observed that BMW claimed the removable panels could be removed in 40 minutes; however it actually took six hours. The BMW Z1 also had a very small part in the Jackie Chan film, Armour of God II: Operation Condor. References Further reading Z1 Roadsters Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1988 1990s cars Cars discontinued in 1991