BMW to revive CSL with 3.0 Homage

German luxury car-maker BMW is turning to its past to inspire the future, releasing a single teaser image of the what is shaping up to be one of its most stylish concepts to date, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage.

The new concept car will be released at the Corcorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, one of Europe's most important vintage/rare car shows at Lake Como on May 22. Channelling the famous BMW 3.0 CSL coupe introduced late in 1971, the concept reprises one of the company's most sought-after collectibles.

Although BMW has released only a single image of the car's rear three-quarter, it's clear the design will be a show-stopper. Hugely pumped rear wheel arches and dynamically sculpted tail lights loop into a stylised rear spoiler are obvious. At the top of the rear window is a version of the CSL's signature roof spoiler.

Like the original E9 BMW 3.0 CSL, which was available with Perspex windows instead of glass and aluminium body parts instead of steel, the Hommage concept appears to be a light-weight stripped-back speed machine. Although this time the exotic material of choice appears to carbon-fibre.

"Subtle and finely sculpted surfaces convey dynamics and exclusivity, while the extensive use of carbon fibre for the lower section highlights the car's systematic lightweight design concept," reads the BMW press statement.

Affectionately known as the Batmobile, due to its huge rear wing and increased power, the Hommage will likewise feature a stripped-out interior.
"The rigorously pared-down interior of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage renders its lightweight concept not only visible but tangible as well," boasts the Munich car-maker.

BMW is a long-time supporter of the Concorso and often delivers one-off concept cars there, usually designed with the help of Italian design houses.

But the 3.0 CSL Hommage is said to have been done completely in-house, and this single rear three-quarter photograph reveals plenty of similarities to the 1970s race-bred six-cylinder classic.

It can already be seen that the 3.0 CSL Hommage has a relatively thin C-pillar, with a pronounced Hoffmeister kink, and a BMW badge in the middle of the support structure, as on the 3.0 CS and CSL.

There is also a monster rear wing, wrapping around the entire rear end from the top of its wheel-arch extensions and over its new, LED tail-lights.

It’s painted in throwback lime, with BMW suggesting it will have “stretched flanks” and aggressive front and rear-end designs.

The bottom half of the car will feature the prominent and visible use of carbon-fibre to highlight its light-weight design and construction.

BMW also says it will feature a light-weight feel inside the car, too, with every part serving a visible purpose, related to its structure or its driving character.

It has yet to even hint at what will be beneath the 3.0 CSL Hommage’s bonnet, though a true homage to the 3.0-litre CSL could only carry an in-line six-cylinder powerplant.

BMW’s design department has never made a secret that the 3.0 CS and CSL remain its detail and proportional reference points for every BMW coupe in production, and the cars remain favourites internally.

However, don’t count on the 3.0 CSL Hommage making production. It won’t be BMW’s first 'Hommage' concept car, as it did an M1 Hommage for the same event in 2008 and did the 328 Hommage in 2011.

But the 3.0 CSL Hommage comes at something of a crossroads for BMW’s production coupes. The 6 Series is far larger, heavier and softer than the original 3.0-litre CS that inspired it, while BMW has yet to confirm a replacement for the Z4, though it has kyboshed the Z2.

There is talk internally of going back to the CSL badge to use on a line of even-faster M cars, much in the same way AMG does with the Black Series cars.

The first in line could be a hotter version of the M4, which may be called the M4 CSL. It is likely to be based off BMW’s M4 MotoGP safety car, which uses two water-cooled turbochargers instead of the current turbos.

Stay tuned for the full reveal on May 23, Australian time.