The BMW 328 Hommage celebrated, commemorated, and modernized the iconic 328, marking the automotive’s 75th anniversary in outrageous style. Thought-about by some to be the very best sports activities automotive of the Thirties — and an enormous success for BMW — the unique 328 arguably set the bar for all BMWs that got here after. Futuristic steps for the time, like utilization of light-weight metals and new suspension know-how, contributed to the 328’s distinctive efficiency and in-period accolades. It’s solely becoming that BMW’s successor to one of many biggest was assembled with unparalleled consideration to element. Right here’s the way it occurred.
Design Origins: How the BMW 328 Hommage Was Born
The 328 Hommage was birthed by Karl Baumer, president of BMW’s traditional automotive division, again in 2008. On the time, Baumer initially envisioned an M1 reference piece. Whereas that by no means materialized, the identical concept got here Adrian van Hooydonk’s in 2011. Now, Adrian had really pushed an authentic 328, and the automotive had left an impression on him. Core BMW philosophies shined brilliant with this pre-war gem, as evidenced by his phrases to Steve Saxty in his e book BMW by Design.
“Its gentle weight, six-cylinder engine, and rear-wheel drive actually impressed me,” he says. With Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este across the nook and the once-budding idea vehicles class now a extremely popular attraction, BMW spun off the present ConnectedDrive idea into what we all know at present because the 328 Hommage.
“Across the nook” might need been burying the lead a bit, although. The Hommage grew to become an outlined aim in January 2011, simply 4 months earlier than Villa d’Este. Designer Christopher Weil took first crack on the 328 Hommage. Although the ConnectedDrive idea had solely simply taken kind, Weil borrowed generously and in simply the precise locations. “I assumed folks won’t understand it was the identical automotive if I modified its character by tweaking the precise components,” he says in Saxty’s e book.
He claims that he revised the principle physique line and adjusted the rocker panel beneath the place the door can be. In fact, one other distinction was the dearth of doorways completely — “no funds,” Weil explains. Additional tweaks included an clearly redone grille with different-styled lights.
Constructing the 328 Hommage: Z4 Roots, Carbon Fiber Shell, and Classic Soul
After design will get sorted, BMW units to work constructing the wild idea. Carbon fiber physique panels, fiberglass (made to seem like carbon fiber) trim items, and alloy wheels styled after the 328’s authentic holed-wheel type gave the automotive the proper mix of latest and classic. Gross car weight was simply 780 kg — round 1720 kilos. Saddle leather-based upholstery was chosen for its uniquely “aged” properties. When time got here to breathe life into the automotive, BMW selected to work with California-based coachbuilders Metalworks.
Underpinning the 328 Hommage, appropriately, is BMW’s roadster of the day. A Z4 check automotive pulled from the automaker’s personal Oxnard, California emissions check facility with 63,000 kilometers already on the clock. Stripped and lengthened, the chassis proves to be the proper match for extra reinforcements and the carbon fiber tub mendacity beneath the sheet steel — erm, sheet carbon fiber — of the Hommage. In fact, this type of resourcefulness didn’t actually contribute to a lot value financial savings. The 328 Hommage was nonetheless a multi-million greenback mission. Take into account the bespoke alloy wheels, CFRP building and — most significantly — customized glass, which idea vehicles almost by no means get as a result of it’s just so costly to fabricate.
Legacy of the 328 Hommage: A Preview of BMW’s Design Future?
Lastly, in Could 2011, the 328 Hommage landed at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, full with different idea automotive neatness like leather-based straps flanking the outside and a show comprising twin iPhones. How far we’ve come! Regardless, it stands at present as an superior reference to a automotive that arguably made BMW what it’s at present and has been for many years. And, hopefully, a style of what’s to return for the unique 328’s one centesimal anniversary. Wish to be taught extra in regards to the 328 Hommage? We suggest trying out Steve Saxty’s glorious e book, BMW by Design. Or, try the remainder of his BMW books — they’re all worthwhile.
