FEW sports cars go out in fashion, they become classics, writes Robin Bird.

That's why today's modern sports cars from BMW, MG, Mazda and TVR all have classic styling and retro features.

BMW has long had an ambition to show how the legendary BMW 507 of the fifties would have evolved along with today's 3, 5 and 7 series.

The idea niggled so much, that BMW's designers finally got the go-ahead for a concept design, which has just been shown at the Tokyo Motor Show.

Here is the result, the BMW Z07 (pictured). Dream, or reality? The decision as to whether this road going concept car should ever go into production has yet to be taken.

The sports car has the BMW distinctive double kidney grille, headlights behind a glass cover, wide wheel arches plus striking aerodynamic fin. Backbone of the ZO7 is an aluminium space frame, skinned in aluminium. There is an option of a hardtop.

If, for only historic reasons, the engine is eight cylinder. What a car it would make, a ZO7 for 007.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.