(FORTUNE Magazine) – What's wrong with this picture? Balmy Southern California day, deserted, twisty canyon roads, and a high-style 400-horsepower European roadster. Not much--except the $129,000 price tag attached to BMW's new flagship, the Z8. Otherwise, the German carmaker has managed to create a new niche: black-tie performance. Sure, the Z8 is as buttery as Jaguar's 370-horsepower XKR--but it offers a stiffer ride and a sweet, six-speed manual gearbox. It's faster than a Porsche 911--zero to 60 in under 4.7 seconds, the fastest BMW on the road. And it evokes an Aston Martin level of elegance--while being less stuffy and costing half the price. Best, it recalls one of BMW's finest design moments, the sexy 507 roadster from the '50s.

The cockpit is a study in spareness. What few buttons there are gleam in brushed aluminum, and the dash's black patent leather-like shine accents its voluptuous curves. The speedometer and tachometer sit mid-dash, allowing nothing to block the driver's view of the road.

Some will criticize the Z8 as being too retro chic, but I challenge them to name a prettier example. Besides, slip behind the multispoke steering wheel and push the ignition button, and esoteric arguments over looks simply fade away. During a full day of testing, there wasn't a fancy car the Z8 couldn't hot-foot past. I got lost in the smoothness of the shifting, the confidence of the brakes, the attention-grabbing squeal of its beefy 18-inch wheels. The V-8--the same engine that powers BMW's excellent M5 sedan--emits a guttural growl, particularly as the rev counter sweeps past 4,000 rpm. Trust me, heads turn.

The only time BMW's latest didn't live up to its promise was in a tight hairpin on a makeshift airport track. Instead of kicking out its rear end in true sports-car fashion, the two-seater behaved cautiously, plowing ahead. The folks at BMW apparently designed that understeer response into the car, figuring that if a Z8 owner is going off the road, it should be nose first, not backward. I disagree--it's a sports car's raison d'etre to act a bit wild, even to scare you.

Through other sorts of turns, the Z8 handled itself like a pro. With the electric top down, the neon taillights blazing (neon reacts faster to braking input, thereby giving the poor slobs behind you more time to avoid your sculptural butt), and the engine winding up to a sonorous 6,600 rpm, the Z8 was as satisfying a ride as I've had at the high end. It's no bargain, but anyone shopping in this category is only interested in buying something unique, unusually capable, and covetable.

The best news: For all its beauty, the Z8 is all male--and a well-behaved one at that. It's ironic that the car starred in the latest James Bond film. The Z8 is much more Sean Connery than Pierce Brosnan.