Think different with Steve Jobs’ very own BMW Z8

Steve Jobs was known for his impeccable attention to detail, especially when it came to design. That discerning taste extended to his choice in automobiles as well, and now the visionary Apple founder’s personal BMW Z8 can be yours. RM Sotheby’s will offer Jobs’ Z8 at its ICONS auction on Dec. 6, where it is expected to fetch $300,000–$400,000.

The Hagerty Valuation tool indicates a #1-condition, concours-quality Z8 is worth $273,000, but prices are rising, and a 61-mile jewel sold at Monterey over the summer crossed the block with a $440,000 price tag. Given the cult-like adoration Apple fans have for Steve Jobs, don’t be surprised if big bucks change hands to own this piece of history.

Jobs was the original owner of this 2000 BMW Z8, which wears classic Titanium paint over a black interior and features a six-speed manual gearbox. There is extensive documentation of both service and ownership, including registration materials that bear his home address. Apparently that’s out of the ordinary, given Jobs’ usual privacy-driven practice of changing cars every six months so he wouldn’t have to register them. (This grace period in California has since been reduced to 90 days.)

Instead he kept the Z8 until 2003, before selling it to its current owner, who would later sell it and buy it back. It accumulated fewer than 1,000 miles per year, and the odometer now reads 15,200 miles.

The Z8 has always been in the crosshairs of collectors and prospectors. It was hailed as a future classic essentially upon its launch in 1999, lauded for its Henrik Fisker design and evocation of the BMW 507 roadster. Although the Z8 was celebrated more for its looks than its performance, the 394-horsepower 4.9-liter V-8 was nothing to sneeze at, either. From an engineering perspective, the Z8 is also significant for its use of an advanced aluminum space frame construction.

RM Sotheby’s offers Jobs’ Z8 with a handful of its original accessories. Practical items like the hardtop and hardtop stand, car cover, and navigation CDs are included, but the BMW-branded Motorola flip-phone is getting perhaps the most attention. Jobs is said to have hated it, and it’s not a stretch to imagine the bespectacled CEO cursing the boxy mobile phone in his Z8, envisioning a revolutionary solution that would change the way we communicate.