New Car: BMW 2002 Hommage

BMW has organised the annual Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este classic car show since 2005, and frequently uses the event to debut retro-inspired ‘Hommage’ show cars. This year the brand unveiled the BMW 2002 Hommage, an exterior concept intended to evoke memories of the classic 2002, launched 50 years ago this year.

While the concept is designed to recall the classic 2002 Turbo, its origins appear to be the current BMW M2, carrying over the wheelbase and glasshouse, and details like the quad rear exhausts. The concept’s rear lamps seem to be borrowed from the i3 and i8, too.

A defining detail of the original 2002 was the chrome strip that completely encircled the car, running from the hood shut, along the beltline and around the car’s rear. The concept features a similar theme, albeit picked out in carbon fibre rather than chrome, and not quite running in an unbroken band right around the body.

However, the division of upper and lower body on the concept is reinforced with the use of matt and gloss ‘Space Race Metal’ paint for the upper and lower respectively.

As with the original, the concept’s nose features single lamps set into a black strip that emphasises the width of the car, while the indicators float separately above. While the original Turbo’s lower mask is very simple, and features ‘turbo’ script in reverse, so any slower car would have a rear-view mirror full of correctly-oriented text, the concept’s is closer to that of BMW’s CSL racing car.

The front splitter juts much further forward and making the car seem lower and wider. However, in doing this, the reversed ‘Turbo’ script is rather harder to read.

The concept’s surfacing offers a more exaggerated take on the historic car, particularly the hood’s bold centre line, while the broad, overlapping front and rear fenders link the car to BMW’s i3 and i8.

The Hommage’s rear offers perhaps the greatest deviation from the original. Its deck lid features an integrated spoiler, rather than a black plastic version, while the rear bumper is also one unbroken surface, rather than having a separate chrome bumper as per the original.

The latest concept is the eighth of BMW’s Hommage models, while the seventh is the BMW Motorrad motorcycle that also debuted at this year’s show. All eight models were on display together for the first time, alongside the historical BMW model that inspired it.

From left to right in the image above: the 2011 BMW 328 Hommage, and 328 racer; the 2013 BMW Concept Ninety, inspired by the BMW R90S motorcycle; the 1997 Mini ACV 30, and the classic Mini Cooper; the 2006 BMW Concept Coupé Milla Miglia and the 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupé of 1940; the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage shown at last year’s event, with the 1970s CSL; and the 2008 M1 Hommage, with the M1 – the first concept to use the Hommage name.