The Z3 was not a home run for BMW. I'm still surprised the S2000, or a
replacement, isn't on the market.
The Z3 and the Z4 are regarded as "girly" cars in some circles.
My wife had a Z4. I had a Porsche. :-)
As pure driver's cars, BMW went downhill after the corporation decided
it wanted to offer luxury alternatives to Mercedes. The best pure
driving machines it offered were the 2002ti and one of the "5" series,
maybe the early 535s. After that, the company got into "plush."