BMW updates 2002 Hommage with new racy livery

BMW has updated its 2002 Hommage with new racing livery for the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach.

Created to pay homage to the BMW 2002 turbo and first presented at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in May, the refreshed concept wears a racy orange/black paintwork that harks back to the colour schme and livery of the 1970s.

The sporting silhouette of the BMW 2002 Hommage lies low against the road. Its compact proportions; complete with long wheelbase, short overhangs and prominent “shark nose”, promise a driving experience that thrills with irresistible dynamics and agility. Aerodynamic details like the large spoilers at the front and rear team up with the profusion of air intakes and exits to optimise airflow around the car and maximise downforce in every driving situation.

Those flare wheel arches not only looks good, but recall the homologated version of the BMW 2002 turbo, which needed broad bolt-on extensions to accommodate a significantly wider track. They house elaborate 20-inch rims that recall the rollers of bygone eras behind which hide gold-coloured brake calipers bearing the M logo.

The 2002 Hommage features a unifying carbon fibre “waterline” that connect many of the car’s formal elements and physically wraps around the car from front to rear.

The front end bridges a gap of 50 years in combining the characteristic, horizontal grill graphic of the 02 series with modern elements of BMW design. The bonnet references the “spear” contour stretching down the centre of the 02 models that swells slightly into a surround for the BMW logo as it approaches the kidney grille.

Like the BMW 2002, the BMW 2002 Hommage also has two single round headlights that provide the striking front end with its outer limits. The headlights’ reflective gold colouring is a pointer to the “golden” 50th anniversary of the BMW 2002’s launch. The headlights also reprise the yellow hue commonly found in the headlamps of racing cars back in the day. An unbroken horizontal black band unites the design elements of the front end and in so doing, underlines the car’s wide and athletic stance. Those with a keen eye will also pick out the turn signal repeaters, which – like those of the car’s forebear – are located separately from the headlights and embedded in the wrap-around carbon fiber waterline element.

The rear-end of the BMW 2002 Hommage also calls on elements of the 2002 turbo. The horizontal sub-division of the car’s generous surfaces and its clear lines make a width-emphasising and thus suitably dynamic statement, laced with modern feel. The almost rectangular lights provide a stylistic border for the rear end. The glass covers have a contemporary black- panel look and only offer a view of the inner workings when the lights illuminate.

All you can see when they are dormant is an unbroken black surface. As at the front of the car, this strengthens the impression of a strip wrapped around the car.

The BMW logo is placed to the right of the license plate, while a carbon diffuser integrates the now familiar two sets of twin pipes.