PROFILE
“ THE Z8 FOR me is still one of the most perfect pieces BMW has ever made ,” enthuses Hildegrad Wortmann , BMW ’ s Senior Vice President of product management and brand .
“ I can ’ t believe it was such a long time ago when they produced it , but it has stood the test of time . I wish I could drive one . If you know someone willing to sell for an attractive price then let me know . I ’ ll have it one day .”
An impassioned motorist and longing admirer of BMW ’ s creations , it was arguably fate which brought BMW and Wortmann together after eight years at Unilever . Having helped mastermind the rise of Calvin Klein ’ s illustrious cosmetics brand , it was on a Friday afternoon in 1998 that she made the leap to cars .
“ I gave the BMW marketing head at the time a call to ask if they had anything I could work on , and he said in a very true deep Bavarian tone ‘ come along and have a chat ’, which I did . A couple of weeks later I had a contract . I was very fortunate that everything fell into place .”
Reviving a legend Not long after the turn of the millennium , BMW brought back one
12 March 2017