It’s not what you think it is, this car. You’re probably looking at it and thinking ‘what have they done to a BMW Z8?’ But all is not as it seems here. This is not a BMW Z8 coupe so much as a greatest hits of BMW’s parts bin. It’s called the Smit Oletha and it’s the brainchild of two engineering-obsessed brothers from California, Willem and Kaess Smit. Both have mechanical engineering backgrounds, one in aerospace and advanced composites, the other in automotive with stints at both Tesla and Singer. But have they built the car BMW never would? We sent Top Gear Magazine's Ollie Marriage to California to investigate.

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