BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage show car
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27th May, 2015
Among the automotive design studies and oldies from the past that gathered
this past week-end at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, the BMW Group presented its new BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage. This new
show car is the BMW Design Team’s tribute to the 3.0 CSL, a coupé from the 1970s.
“Our Hommage cars not only demonstrate how proud we are of our heritage, but also how important the past can be in
determining our future,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “The BMW 3.0 CSL
Hommage represents a nod to the engineering achievement exemplified by the BMW 3.0 CSL in its lightweight design and
performance. With intelligent lightweight construction and modern materials, the 3.0 CSL Hommage brings the character of
that earlier model into the 21st century, showing it in a new and exciting guise,” he says, summarising the approach
the design team took with the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage.
“CSL” stands for “Coupé Sport Leichtbau” (coupé, sport, lightweight). With its aluminium bonnet, boot and wings,
Plexiglas windows and equipment rigorously pared down to the bare essentials, the old BMW 3.0 CSL tipped the scales
around 200 kg lighter than its sibling model, the BMW 3.0 CS. Unsurprisingly, then, it was predestined for a career on
the race track. Whereas the material of choice in the '70s was aluminium, today carbon fibre – or carbon-fibre-reinforced
plastic (CFRP) – offers the optimum weight-to-strength ratio. These high-strength fibres are even lighter and stronger
than aluminium. And the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage makes generous use of the high-tech composite, reinterpreting the concept of
lightweight design for the modern age. Wherever CFRP is used, it is also visible – rendering the lightweight design
principle tangible both inside and out.
The exterior
Karim Habib, Head of BMW Design, explains the thinking behind the design of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage: “For BMW
designers like us, the BMW 3.0 CSL is a style icon. Its combination of racing genes and elegance generates an engaging
aesthetic that continues to win hearts even today. The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage celebrates many of those characteristic
features, but without copying them. Indeed, some of the parallels are not immediately obvious. We wanted people to sense
the family resemblance rather than see it straight off.”
The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage is a vision of automotive athleticism: the elongated body is set off by distinctive air
deflectors, powerful wheel arches and prominent spoilers to the roof and tail. Despite its size, the aerodynamic elements
are key in enabling air to flow optimally along the sides of the vehicle. The front air deflector serves to vent the
engine compartment, while wings over the rear wheels ensure optimum airflow around the vehicle. Small rear-view cameras
are fitted. The large rear spoiler increases downforce on the rear axle. The Air Curtain and Air Breather systems
guarantee optimum ventilation of the wheel housings. And the sheer self-confidence and sporting prowess of the BMW 3.0
CSL Hommage are perfectly summed up in the original colour of its influential predecessor – Golf Yellow.
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The front end
Boasting one of the broadest and lowest front ends of any vehicle in the BMW Group, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage’s front
exudes power and 'athleticism'. At the centre, the BMW kidney grille stands tall in citation of the more upright styling
of the kidney grille of yesteryear. The size and spatial depth of the kidney grille symbolise the output of the powerful
six-cylinder in-line engine with eBoost. At the same time, the finely wrought geometry of frame and kidney struts lends
the front end an air of quality and exclusivity. The characteristic four-eyed face gives a contemporary, hexagonal
interpretation of front-end sportiness. Laser light and LED technology facilitate slender, state-of-the-art lighting
graphics, and the flat contours of the headlamps generate that characteristically focused BMW look. A stylised “X” inside
the lights divides the lighting functions and conjures up memories of the X-shaped headlamp stickers once used in
long-distance racing. Horizontal LED strips provide a visual bond between headlamps and kidney grille while at the same
time emphasising the broad, flat impact of the front end. A large carbon-fibre front splitter reduces the gap between
road and front end and, in combination with the kidney grille, offers a modern interpretation of the earlier car’s highly
distinctive shark nose. Two circular openings and a series of elongated slots pay tribute to other elements featured in
the earlier car, but offer a new interpretation for the 21st century.
The sides
The vehicle sides are in elegant counterpoint to the marked athleticism of front and rear. The long wheelbase and
elongated bonnet appear to stretch the Hommage’s silhouette. A continuous, horizontal line encircles the vehicle by way
of paying tribute to a distinctive stylistic feature of the earlier BMW 3.0 CSL: its all-round chrome trim. In
combination with the black highlight beneath, the continuous line intensifies the flat, elongated appearance of the
sides.
A particular detail of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage is the roofline. Consciously subdivided into three, the line recalls
the distinctive upper section of the BMW 3.0 CS – one of the first coupés to feature a roof that did not flow into the
tail. Compared with the ubiquitous fastback coupés of the day, this was both an innovation and a design statement. In
keeping with the BMW 3.0 CSL, the Hommage features a BMW logo on each of the C-pillars.
The all-round 'shoulder line' is also the starting point for the subtle, finely sculpted surfaces of the sides. It
follows the development of the shadowy areas behind the front wheel all the way to the lit surfaces above the rear
wheels. This interplay between light and shade lends movement and dynamic intensity to the generous surfaces of the
vehicle’s sides. Dark CFRP areas narrow the gap between the sides and the road, again paying tribute to the consistent
lightweight design of the BMW 3.0 CSL. In combination with the black graphic accents, the dark lightweight elements
reduce the perceived height of the vehicle and further emphasise its flat silhouette. The black 21" alloy wheels in matt
and high-gloss bi-colour versions offer an additional unique highlight. Air control blades in the interstices of the
wheel rims, meanwhile, serve to further optimise aerodynamics.
The rear end
As with the front end, the vehicle’s tail is broad and muscular in design. Generous surfaces generate presence,
horizontal elements emphasise width. A particular highlight is the styling of the rear lights: an LED strip above the
spoiler links the two lights, thus giving the rear end a formal framework. The powerfully sculpted rear apron with CFRP
diffusor makes a visual impression of the BMW 3.0 CSL’s raw power. From grille to headlamps, the bonnet traces a broad
“V” – a nostalgic throwback to a distinctive and dynamic element of earlier BMW coupés.
The interior
Pared down to a minimum, the interior of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage puts its lightweight design on show. All interior
elements are there out of absolute necessity, every part has a design, structural or drive-related function. In the
all-CFRP interior, the only wood-like presence is the “instrument panel” – a cross-member and purely structural element.
This is a clear reference to the interior of the earlier BMW 3.0 CSL, which featured an all-round wood trim throughout
the interior. In the new version, only the small central eBoost charging display interrupts the wooden instrument panel.
Infotainment is equally minimalist in concept: a central display on the steering column informs the driver of the current
gear, speed, revs and shift point.
Racing genes and lightweight design
Other racing features include bucket seats with high-quality stitching, a six-point belt and red anodised safety
features such as the outlet nozzles for the extinguishing foam, the fire extinguisher itself, and the two switches on the
centre console for the emergency shut-off and fire extinguishing mechanism. The only elements in the rear of the vehicle
are two helmets integrated into the transmission tunnel. These are held in place by a belt when not in use. In the place
of a rear seat bench, there are only covers for the eBoost energy accumulators. Special reflector technology in
combination with LED strips provide an impressive 3D effect on the covers.
In its use of cutting-edge materials and detailed solutions, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage displays technical sophistication
and subtlety of form. Meticulously crafted aluminium sleeves add high-quality accents at the junctions between individual
structural elements. The door design is as minimalist as it is expressive: precise, clean surfaces trace an arc
rearwards, lending the door element a flowing, dynamic quality. The door openers combine a DTM-style pull strap with the
elegant handle-integrated opener of the earlier BMW 3.0 CSL, resulting in the hybrid solution of a nylon pull strap
located directly behind the grab handle in the door. As with the interior as a whole, this detail lends expression to the
unique character of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage: a winning combination of lightweight design, athleticism and elegance.
E&OE.
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