To pay tribute to one of the most successful and best-looking car of the 1930s, BMW unveiled earlier this year the 328 Hommage. The original BMW 328 celebrated its 75th birthday at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este by unveiling an anniversary model.

Next stop for the classy 328 Hommage was Pebble Beach, the biggest and most important Concourse d’Elegance in the world.

The BMW 328 was noted for its lightweight design, powerful inline six-cylinder engine and responsive handling. The expressive exterior design of the BMW 328 Hommage depicts the modern interpretation of a highly emotional and dynamic two-seater Roadster. As did its predecessor, the 328 Hommage uses BMW’s most powerful inline six-cylinder engine, continuing another longstanding BMW tradition.

With the new 328 Hommage, BMW also showcases some of the technology and materials that we will see in future production vehicles. The major parts of the exterior and interior of the BMW 328 Hommage are made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP), a lightweight material that was used in the series production of CFRP roofs and structural components for the BMW M6 as well as CFRP roofs for the BMW M3.

The proportions and cues follow the design language of the Vision family, another layering approach, both on the inside and outside. At the front, BMW designers chose a combination of classic and futuristic design cues, with a very wide and road-focused approach. The three-dimensional front-end leads with a long CFRP bonnet that offers an impressive road stance. The round headlights emphasize the car and driver’s focus on the road and are surrounded by large air intakes that create visual lightness.

The kidney grille describes the classic and slim look of the original kidney design on the 328.

At the rear-end is where the Vision design cues stand out even more. The L-shaped taillights have been designed with the layering language that creates a visual lightness, along with physical lightness. The large vents and openings emphasize the light appearance even more, with circular tailpipes located inside the two air outlets.

Inside, a similar design language has been applied, a combination of classic, modern and futuristic, in a single vehicle. Remaining truthful to its DNA, BMW maintains the driver-orientation design separating the driver and co-driver areas from each other.

As expected, the 328 Hommage was one of the main attraction in the Concepts area at Pebble Beach and a highly desirable collector’s car.

[Photos: John Hietter ]