THERE'S MORE TO THIS TRIBUTE THAN A GIGANTIC REAR WING
The covers came off the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage concept at the 2015 Concorso d’Elegance Villa d’Este over the weekend, and there’s much more to the lime green two-door than that oversized rear wing. There’s a smaller, roof-mounted spoiler, also lime green. Plus more swoops and curves than we can count. Most of those are lime green as well. Add in a racing-inspired interior that manages to make room for a luxuriant swath of hardwood on the dash and you’ve got a very striking concept fueled by some serious performance heritage.
The 3.0 CSL Hommage was inspired by the classic, successful 3.0 CSL homologation special -- and its racing counterpart -- introduced in 1972. Like its nominal predecessors, the new concept chips away at mass with the most advanced lightweight materials available. Back in the '70s, that would have been aluminum. Here, BMW has used carbon fiber, leaving the composite material exposed wherever it’s been deployed.
The built-in fire extinguisher and racing-inspired steering wheel are a clear indication of the 3.0 CLS's motorsport inspiration.PHOTO BY BMW
The big difference between the original 3.0 CSL and its modern concept counterpart is that the former car was actually built, sold and raced. The Hommage concept is likely to remain a one-off, and we’d be surprised if it will ever be driven in anything approaching anger.
Still, we’ll note that BMW’s prior Villa d’Este productions have been more than idle styling exercises. Hints of the Gran Lusso Coupe Concept have made the jump to the upcoming 2016 7-series (if not a hypothetical 8-series coupe), the i8 has a lot in common with the M1 Homage concept and the Concept Ninety motorcycle morphed into the production BMW R nineT. The BMW 328 we saw in 2011? Let’s consider that spartan roadster the exception to the rule.
BMW hasn’t bothered discussing powertrains, instead using its press-release budget to focus on the car’s LED and laser-based lighting systems and racing-inspired interior. Based on the name, the 3.0-liter inline-six seems like a natural powerplant -- perhaps too obvious for the Bavarian automaker. The center console is missing a manual gear selector, but a dual clutch makes perfect sense here, given the car’s racing intent.
Weight and performance are also left up to our very vivid imaginations. So we're going to assume it's a sub-3,000-pound M235i-sized coupe with an engine and transmission pulled from a new M3. With sticky tires, it'll do 0-60 in something like 3.5 seconds. What say you, BMW?
No word on this car's production prospects, but you could just buy a Supra if you want a gigantic rear wing.PHOTO BY BMW
0 коментарі:
Post a Comment