At yesterday’s Legends of the Autobahn event, BMW – easily the largest marque represented on the lawn – rolled out the 328 Hommage for its first appearance on North American soil.

Built to celebrate the original 328′s 75th birthday, the Hommage concept is both an advanced styling exercise and four-wheeled exploration of lightweight materials. Like its great, great grandfather, which was composed primarily of aluminum and magnesium, the Hommage is an incredibly svelte roadster, coming in at 1,720 pounds thanks to its carbon fiber body, passenger tub and wheels. Appropriately and predictably, power is provided by a 3.0-liter inline-six of undisclosed output, while a single set of gauges and a pair of contoured leather buckets make up the spartan interior.

When the concept debuted earlier this year, we weren’t particularly smitten with the Hommage’s styling, but in person (and alongside the 328s of yore), it’s a thing to behold. The crossed-out headlamps and leather hood ties smack of nostalgia-infused kitsch, but the silver carbon fiber wheels, exposed weave, double bump rump and – yes – even the elongated kidney grilles give it a presence that’s both menacing and sophisticated. Judge for yourself in the gallery of live pics above.

BMW 328 Hommage Concept touches down in Monterey originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last week at the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este, BMW unleashed its lovely 328 Hommage on the world as a tribute to its legendary 1936 328, the car that still holds the fastest average speed ever achieved at the Mille Miglia. This week, they’ve pumped out a video of the car in motion, disguised as a behind-the-scenes look at its California photo shoot. As you might expect, the video just serves confirm our earlier conclusion: this car has some beautiful details.

For those who need a refresher course, here’s how the numbers break down: The 328 Hommage tips the scales at just over 1,700 pounds thanks to the use of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics. Pushing that scant poundage around is BMW’s venerated inline six, backed up by a mystery transmission. To ogle the video, click past the jump.

Continue reading BMW 328 Hommage even sexier in motion

BMW 328 Hommage even sexier in motion originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 31 May 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While at this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este (yeah, we’re roughing it here) we grabbed BMW Group chief of design Adrian von Hooydonk for an interview about his team’s latest two-person open-top concept car, the 328 Hommage.

The 328 Hommage marks 75 years since the launch of the gorgeous 1930s icon, the 328, and carries on the tradition of that car in its lightness. While the 328 six-cylinder was underpowered on paper in its day, it kicked butt on the race circuit due to its very light weight and superior dynamics.

The 328 Hommage frankly looks more like an homage to the 1950s sex-tastic 507, but at least the concept gets the open sides, leather straps, and wingnut wheels fairly correct. And we like that the tall kidneys on the grille make a modern return.

Von Hooydonk admits that the 328 Hommage isn’t proportionally much like the 328 of old, but, he says, “Any sports car today needs to be wider and lower anyway.” We, however, harken back to the 2006 Mille Miglia coupe concept, which simply blew one and all away. That car also went directly from its public unveiling into the BMW museum in Munich, never to be seriously driven.

Click through to the jump to continue reading and to watch the video.

Continue reading BMW Group design boss von Hooydonk talks 328 Hommage [w/video]

BMW Group design boss von Hooydonk talks 328 Hommage [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 May 2011 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pop quiz time: What vehicle holds the highest average speed on the famed Mille Miglia circuit? A BMW 328. Their average speed was 103 miles per hour, and it was set way back in 1940. That car, the BMW 328, is a legend in the automaker’s halls, and was named one of the 25 greatest cars of the century. This year marks the 328′s 75th birthday, so BMW has prepared a unique concept car to pay tribute to one of its own iconic vehicles.

Dubbed the BMW 328 Hommage, this ultra-lightweight sports car was built to mirror the principles used to create the original 328. The 328 Hommage weighs in at a svelte 1,720 pounds, accomplished through the use of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. While CFRP wasn’t exactly around in the 30′s and 40′s, BMW engineers of that era kept the 328 light through the use of aluminum and magnesium. Both cars are cut from a similar cloth to achieve a lightweight end result, even if the methods to get there are very different.

Many design elements are shared between both cars. The original 328 was one of the earliest BMW vehicles to show off the now familiar kidney grilles. Those grilles nearly jump off the face of the 328 Hommage. Out back, the wide-set taillamps help close off the wide stance that runs the length of both versions.

BMW casually mentions that the 328 Hommage is powered by a 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine. Yet, we have no word on any potential output figures or what type of transmission it might be connected to. Of course, BMW fans might remember that the automaker built a similar concept a few years ago. It was called the Mille Miglia Concept Coupe. Stunning at the time, the 328 Hommage ups the wow factor several notches. Dive into the gorgeous photos in the gallery below, and click past the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading BMW 328 Hommage unveiled to celebrate 75th anniversary of original

BMW 328 Hommage unveiled to celebrate 75th anniversary of original originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 May 2011 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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