On the eve of the legendary BMW 2002’s 50th birthday, the German automaker has surprised fans with an hommage to the motorsport hero that kick started their racing success. The 2002 is one of eight hommage models that BMW has released ahead of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este that pay tribute to the models that played a significant role in shaping their success.
The BMW 2002 hommage is essentially a very busy, angular and more aggressive version of the new 2-series. The idea of taking a current model and making it more futuristic isn’t new for BMW, in fact, they are renowned for taking elements from previous models and throwing them onto a current shape to give people a ’feel’ for what a past model would be like if it came out today. In August 2015, BMW released the concept 3.0 CSL which was essentially a Hollywood interpretation of what the BMW might look like in the not-too-distant future.
BMW have been tightlipped over what is lurking under the bonnet, however, suggestions have surfaced that it will be using a reworked version of the 3.0L turbocharged inline six from the M2.
Whilst the hommage 2002 has delighted some BMW fans, it does beg the question, what’s the point? Concept models are designed to give the public a feel for the direction that a company is headed, whether that be with design or mechanics, but this isn’t a concept, this is a marketing stunt. Don’t get us wrong, we like the design of the BMW 2002 and we’d be glad to see a limited run go into production, but, to us, the homage collection seems like a fruitless exercise.
