THE BMW M1 HOMMAGE.

Let’s turn the clock back a few decades – three, to be precise: In 2008, the BMW M1 Hommage took up the basic concept of the mid-engined sports car again – the archetypal super sports car, as it were. Created by the BMW head of design of the time Chris Bangle, the unique prototype was present on the 30^th anniversary of the BMW M1 at the Concorso d’Eleganza on Lake Como.

If the BMW M1 was a super sports car full of uncompromising passion, its predecessor the BMW Turbo offered innovative technological solutions, expressed in emotional design. And it was precisely this combination – technology and design, rationality and passion – that the BMW M1 Hommage embodied in one vehicle.

The design of the BMW M1 Hommage is function-driven and both innovative and retrospective: elements that worked well in the BMW M1, like the ultra-slim headlights and bonnet slats, also work well on the Hommage. M1 fans also knew the special wheels from the original, even if on the Hommage design concept they were highly polished and several inches chunkier. The swung lines and smooth surfaces on the other hand speak a more modern language. The roof line of the BMW M1 Hommage is flat and slopes gently to the tail and around it, thus describing a continuous line and bringing the two sides of the vehicle together. The characteristic BMW double emblem is on this line in the tail above the rear lights.

At the front, the oversized kidney not just a typical BMW distinguishing feature, but on the M1 Hommage also part of the sophisticated aerodynamics: It serves to direct air to the engine cooling and is also the front of a crash-box – similar to a Formula 1 racing car’s monocoque chassis. A further highlight is the engine covering, which seems to float thanks to the optical continuation of the window line – a new interpretation of the original’s ventilation gills. In terms of functionality, this feature has forfeited nothing: The backset groove creates the space for the cooling air flow for the engine. Small slats and openings direct the airstream into the engine compartment and ensure a sufficient air supply.