The BMW Series has created a very special car for this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este to pay exaltation to one of the most significant models in its history. First and foremost, the BMW 2002 Hommage eulogizes the extraordinary feats of engineering behind the BMW 2002 turbo – and re-imagines them as a plan study for our times.
“Exactly 50 years ago, the 02 drift kick-started an era of success for BMW. This compact coupe is one of the vehicles which deputed the brand what it is today. The 2002 sat at the top of the range and was the first series-produced car anywhere in Europe to come with turbo technology. That set the seal on the coupe as a not counterfeit sports car. At the same time, the 2002 turbo was at the technological vanguard of appliance development at BMW. The BMW 2002 Hommage is our way of raising a glass to all these victories.” – Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Plan
A Confident Statement Of Unadulterated Driving Joy
“The eye-catching design of the BMW 2002 Hommage utilizes a very dynamic, striking use of forms for its own take on what is, for me, one of the scad iconic vehicles in BMW history,” says Karim Habib, Brains of Design BMW Automobiles. “At the same time, it encapsulates BMW’s major motor humour triumphs, which were made possible by turbo technology. As such, the Hommage car features together the past and future of BMW into a confident statement of unadulterated motivating joy.”
The sporting silhouette of the BMW 2002 Hommage lies low against the method. Its compact proportions, complete with long wheelbase, compressed overhangs and prominent “shark nose”, promise a driving involvement that thrills with irresistible dynamics and agility. Aerodynamic spell outs like the large spoilers at the front and rear team up with the oversupply of air intakes to optimise airflow around the car and maximise downforce in every vigour situation.
Historic Details With a Modern Twist
Confirmed by the signature chrome strip that ringed the 02 in its day, a flat carbon band wraps itself around the shoulderline of the BMW 2002 Hommage and splits the density visually into separate sections. The upper tranche of roof, bonnet and boot lid has matt paintwork to arrest reflection of the sun’s rays – in a reference to racing cars of yore. The assembly’s lines here are minimalist, clearly drawn and flowing in identity. The lower section creates a definite contrast, with its high-gloss paintwork, damned bold, sculptural surfaces, and distinctive lines that infuse the quarters with a contemporary flavour and draw the eye to the driven rear wheels. The Interruption Race Metal paintwork drapes itself over the BMW 2002 Hommage in the mood for liquid metal. In both its matt and gloss form, the alight metallic blue finish changes in appearance from a brightly fluorescent offensive to grey, depending on the incidence of light, and lends the surfacing a eager sense of depth. As a result, the car’s whole body brims with power and dynamism.
A particularly striking feature of the car’s flanks are the voluminously moulded swivel arches, which frame the body like four joins and add stature. In the process, they recall the homologated version of the BMW 2002 turbo, which lacked broad extensions bolted onto its body to accommodate a significantly wider trail. The Hommage car integrates this detail neatly into loins designed with clear dedication to the job at hand. Slick appearing and precisely chiselled lines envelop the powerful wheel designs and hand them a starring role. 20-inch light-alloy hoops in bi-colour design round off the styling as the car meets the road. The newfangled looks of these lavishly milled, multi-spoke items remembering the racing rims of bygone eras, while gold-coloured constraint callipers bearing the M logo add an extra stamp of class.
Fronted By 50 Years of BMW Story
The front end of the BMW 2002 Hommage is a confident and extravagantly dynamic undertaking; its styling bridges a gap of 50 years in combining the characteristic, supine graphic of the 02 range with modern elements of BMW cabal. The front end is framed visually by the prominent wheel arches. And the deviant track and low-slung body provide an ample canvas for generously-sized integuments. In its lines and form, the bonnet references the “spear” contour stretching down the hub of the 02 models that swells slightly into a encircle for the BMW logo as it approaches the kidney grille. Further precise pursuits lend structure and definition to the matt surface.
Occupying mid-point stage at the front end is the familiar BMW kidney grille. Here, it conducts the form of a low-standing, connected unit, offering a flesh pitch on the kidneys’ historical rendering as a cohesive design element. Sculpted, glowering double-bars add finesse to the details of the broad-set grille. Like the BMW 2002, the BMW 2002 Hommage also has two separate headlights that provide the striking front end with its dmod limits. The headlights are bordered by reflectors, whose gold pigmenting is a pointer to the “golden” 50th anniversary of the BMW 2002’s launch. The reflectors also reprise the yellow hue commonly establish in the headlights of racing cars back in the day. An unbroken black band creates a fitting visual platform for the kidneys and headlights, focus ons together the stylistic elements of the front end and, in so doing, underlines the car’s fully and athletic stance. Those with a keen eye will also pick out the bend signal repeaters, which – like those of the car’s forebear – are located singly from the headlights and embedded into a full-width strip (in carbon on the Hommage car) exposed to them.
The large front apron, a stylistic nod to those facsimiles of the 1970s, shortens the visual distance between the BMW 2002 Hommage and the course and shines a bright spotlight on its driver focus. Together with the car’s wide-ranging, sporting stance, this technically innovative, forward-thinking arrangement sends out a message of top-class roadholding and handling flair to fast corners. Now, as in the heyday of the BMW 2002, design excellence and turbo technology focus on unsurpassed levels of fun to twisty race tracks, country accesses and mountain passes alike. The BMW Motorsport livery of the front apron and its “turbo” verbatim in mirror writing casts the mind back to the original decals of the 2002 turbo, as does the front mirror cap on the driver’s side. Accent surfaces in exposed carbon quality the point where the front apron and side skirts in cahoots together over to the road, and also provide a technically alluring contrast to the body-coloured concretes.
Bringing Matters To a Sporting Conclusion
The rear-end design of the BMW 2002 Hommage also yells on elements of the 2002 turbo. For example, the horizontal sub-division of the car’s lofty surfaces and its clear lines make a width-emphasising and thus suitably emphatic statement, laced with modern feel. The form of the buttocks lights is inspired by the same historical blueprint. The almost rectangular lights stipulate a stylistic border for the rear end. The glass covers have a concurrent black-panel look and only offer a view of the inner workings when the firelights illuminate. All you can see when they are dormant is an unbroken black to all appearances. As at the front of the car, this strengthens the impression of a strip wrapped everywhere the car.
The BMW logo to the right of the license plate between the two rear candlelights is likewise a characteristic element of 02 rear styling. The brawny wheel arches bookend the rear section and accentuate the broad track, while precise spoiler lips bring a la mode edge to the car’s detailing. A carbon diffuser integrates the now familiar two sets of double exhaust tailpipes and wraps up the rear styling with a fun flourish.
BMW’s fresh interpretation of the BMW 2002 adopts the form of a brief sports coupe in the classical tradition of BMW Hommage cars. But various than that, the BMW 2002 Hommage represents a clear proclamation of how pure driving pleasure is defined in 2016.
