SVE Oletha: carbon fiber coupe inspired by the BMW Z8 roadster

By Lukas Müller On Jun 30, 2022

The legendary Bavarian sports car of the early 2000s never had a production coupe version. The young American company Smit Vehicle Engineering (SVE) decided to fix this and prepared its own version called Oletha.

SVE was founded by brothers Willem and Kess Smith, who have been in love with cars in general and BMW in particular since childhood. Before building the BMW of their dreams, the Smith brothers worked and gained experience at General Electric, Tesla, Singer Vehicle Design, San Diego Composites and Applied Composites. Particularly noteworthy in this list is the Singer company, which, by its work with classic Porsche 911s, has created a fashion for intelligent restomoding, the essence of which is respect for the historical context of the donor car and bringing its style to perfection.

But SVE Oletha is not a restomod, because the original BMW Z8 roadster is not needed to make it. Actually, it would be strange to call yourself BMW fans and shred a model that has become a rarity during its lifetime, produced with a circulation of less than six thousand copies.

Original BMW Z8

The BMW Z8 is an ingenious creation in terms of technology and design. The talented Dane Henrik Fisker, who now manages his own startup, worked on the appearance of the model, and at the stage of the BMW Z07 concept she had a version with a coupe body, but this did not go into the series – instead, a hard overhead roof was included with the roadster (with a folding soft there was also a top). For the Z8, BMW developed a completely original aluminum alloy body and the 400-horsepower V8 engine was borrowed from the then BMW M5 sedan (E39).

SVE does not say which car became a donor for Oletha, but judging by the fragments of the instrument panel that are visible in the pictures (the developers did not publish separate photos of the interior of Oletha), this is the BMW Z4 Coupe of the E86 generation – a model much more widely circulated and less valuable for collectors of automotive classics than the BMW Z8.

The donor body received a completely new carbon fiber plumage in the style of the BMW Z8, and the technical stuffing is a hodgepodge. Under the hood is a naturally aspirated 4.4-liter V8 (S65B44) from the BMW M3 of the E90 generation, which was equipped with a new carbon fiber intake system and a stainless steel exhaust system. The declared maximum power is 456 hp. at 8500 rpm, all of it is sent to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox and a self-locking differential.

The adjustable suspension is assembled with custom forged aluminum wishbones and a KW component. Brakes are from AP Racing with Radi-CAL forged calipers. Five-twin-spoke forged wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.

The developers claim that thanks to carbon fiber and a large number of parts made by 3D printing, the torsional rigidity of the body is 30,000 Nm / deg, and the curb weight of Oletha is 1402 kg, that is, almost two centners less than the original BMW Z8. An adjustable electric spoiler is integrated into the stern. In the cabin, you can choose from comfortable seats with eight adjustments or sports buckets on a carbon fiber frame. The most refined materials are promised in the decoration, in the equipment – an audio system for audiophiles.

SVE does not name the price for Oletha – they say, it is determined individually with each customer based on his preferences, while SVE is ready even for Oletha engineering improvements. The Smith brothers have not yet disclosed their further creative plans.