BMW introduced their new sports car, the Z3 in 1996. Drawing inspiration from the famous BMW 507, the Z3 was initially released as a convertible Roadster (E36/7), with the Coupe (E36/8) added to the range starting in 1998. Based on the E36 3 Series, the Z3 was offered with a variety of inline four or inline six engines. The top of the Z3 range was the M, which was offered as the M Roadster, which was introduced in 1998. An M Coupe variant was introduced a year later in 1999. The Z3 ended production in 2002 when BMW introduced its replacement, the BMW Z4.