Automotive

BMW throws back to the 2002 with latest Hommage

BMW throws back to the 2002 with latest Hommage
The BMW 2002 Hommage with the car that inspired its creation
The BMW 2002 Hommage with the car that inspired its creation
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The BMW 2002 Hommage with the car that inspired its creation
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The BMW 2002 Hommage with the car that inspired its creation
The Hommage has a splitter designed to hark back to the 2002 Turbo's front end
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The Hommage has a splitter designed to hark back to the 2002 Turbo's front end
BMW has tried to recreate the original 2002's flared arches on the Hommage
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BMW has tried to recreate the original 2002's flared arches on the Hommage
The 2002 is latest in a long line of throwback BMWs
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The 2002 is latest in a long line of throwback BMWs
The new 2002 has the classic looking over its shoulder.
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The new 2002 has the classic looking over its shoulder.
Those 20-inch wheel are unique to the 2002 Hommage
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Those 20-inch wheel are unique to the 2002 Hommage
We don't love its looks, but it would still be fun to spend time in the Hommage on a winding road
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We don't love its looks, but it would still be fun to spend time in the Hommage on a winding road
The Hommage paintjob is matte up top, and glossy down the bottom
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The Hommage paintjob is matte up top, and glossy down the bottom
The old car and its younger brother
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The old car and its younger brother
To our eyes, the rear of the 2002 is its best angle
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To our eyes, the rear of the 2002 is its best angle
The 2002 Hommage looks low and wide from the back
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The 2002 Hommage looks low and wide from the back
The central exhaust have featured on M3s and the M2
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The central exhaust have featured on M3s and the M2
The car's front end is a bit bulbous for our liking
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The car's front end is a bit bulbous for our liking
BMW has flared the wheelarches on the new car to reference the racing bodykit on the 2002 Turbo
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BMW has flared the wheelarches on the new car to reference the racing bodykit on the 2002 Turbo
The 2002 Hommage's headlamps are hidden behind the black bar when not in use
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The 2002 Hommage's headlamps are hidden behind the black bar when not in use
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BMW might be putting a focus on the future of mobility at the moment, but that hasn't stopped it from taking a glimpse at the rear-view mirror. The 2002 Hommage concept pays tribute to the compact coupe that set the blueprint for the Bavarian company's modern sport sedans.

Where the classic 2002 used chrome trim to highlight the lines around the cabin, the Hommage's designers have turned to carbon fiber. The chrome band running around the old car's body has been subbed out for a horizontal carbon band, designed to visually separate the top and bottom half of the flanks.

Also separating the top and bottom half of the concept is a hybrid matte and gloss paint finish. The roof, bonnet and bootlid are all finished in matte paint, a technique used on old racers to cut down on sun glare. Meanwhile, the bottom half is finished in a high-gloss paint designed to highlight the curves and cuts on the bodywork.

BMW has flared the wheelarches on the new car to reference the racing bodykit on the 2002 Turbo
BMW has flared the wheelarches on the new car to reference the racing bodykit on the 2002 Turbo

Although the original 2002 Turbo had a simple bolt-on bodykit, the modern interpretation is something far more complicated. The wheelarches are big and bulbous, and seem completely at odds with some of the square-edged air intakes and creases around the body.

Whereas the old car's delicate bolt-on wheelarches were born to contain the wider track required for racing, the modern reimagining's are home to two-tone wheels that could have come directly from the M Performance add-on catalogue.

It's a similar story up front, where the simple round headlamps and front apron of the 2002 Turbo have been modernized into bulbous (and somewhat incongruous) design elements. We do like the ridge that runs down the middle of the hood, because it's a reference that has been subtly executed. Sometimes, less is more.

The 2002 Hommage looks low and wide from the back
The 2002 Hommage looks low and wide from the back

At the back end, the car's flared wheelarches flow into a rounded bumper, which sits below simple taillights and a neat horizontal band. To our eyes, the Hommage looks best from this angle, where its squat proportions and bulbous bodywork make it look low and wide.

As you might have gathered, we're not completely sold on the way the Hommage looks. It seems like a bit of a missed opportunity, and compared to the original it looks big and bloated. Still, beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say – the 3.0 CSL Hommage wasn't our favorite piece of design either, but plenty of our readers were fans of that.

The latest Hommage is on display at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.

Source: BMW

View gallery - 15 images
9 comments
9 comments
Mark Mitchell
That thing may be great from the driver's seat but it looks like BMW rounded up every last one of its ugly sticks to beat it with. Grotesque and cartoonish.
yawood
Not my cup of tea. It looks like a student's design exercise that has missed the mark. Pity because the 2002tii was a great piece of kit and likewise the new 2 Series coupe is terrific - but trying to make one reflect the other is not quite there.
Philip Porter
Hideous snow-plough!
wanderkip
This is a very nice and compact design. The 'bulbous" fenders may be the most striking design element, though I agree with the author that the incongruous nature of the curves and angles is not too well integrated. One of the original 2002's most appealing feature's; the tall glass greenhouse, was also overlooked and would have really tied the concept together. Alas, greenhouse heights ebb & flow every decade or so and we are currently in the tall beltline "cocoon" period. While this might provide more of the cool, low-slung, "go-kart" effect, it does nothing for the more practical requirement of outward visibility. Guess I'll have to wait for the M1 homage!
yawood
@wanderkip. I presume you mean that you'll have to wait to be able to afford the M1 Hommage. It was beautiful wasn't it? Seeing that it was the precursor to the i8, just get an i8 and you've got most of the design elements of the M1 Hommage.
steveraxx
Plastic, plastic, plastic. Completely plastic cooling system, from the water pump to the radiator. Plastic DISA valve. VANOS, plastic components.
Where does BMW rank again in terms of quality in initial build and after a year?
yawood
@steveraxx. I am on my fourth BMW since 1997 so I don't just turn them over every 2 or 3 years like some people do. I have always bought low mileage cars (or demo vehicles) and have never had a problem. The quality of their plastics is phenomenal. In Australia most plastics that are exposed to the sun eventually break down because of the intensity of the UV but I haven't had a problem with any of my BMWs despite them being from Europe where the sun is not nearly as harsh. Anyway, most manufacturers use plastics in their cooling systems these days.
wanderkip
@yaywood- "Hommage" would be French. The more common spelling in the US would be "Homage", from Middle English origins. The i8 is certainly a cool machine, but similar to the M1 only in concept and far removed from the sensory input of the M88 motor. The M1 Homage seen at the 2009 Dubai International Motor Show would be closer in execution than the i8. Google for images ... pretty cool.
wanderkip
@steveraxx- Not sure if the plastic components contribute to anything more than a cheap tactile feel, but using modern composite polymers to save weight, ease production and perhaps even perform better isn't necessarily a bad thing. As for overall quality, unfortunately, BMW doesn't even crack the top 10 list for luxury car rankings. http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/used/luxury-large-cars-2/