This 320i Turbo Design Should Be BMW’s Next Hommage Concept

As forward-looking as many of its concepts look, BMW also reaches back into the history books every so often to pay homage to its most iconic models. It revealed the M1 Hommage concept in 2008, the 328 Hommage concept in 2011, the 3.0 CSL Hommage in 2015, and the 2002 Hommage last year. So the question is, what will it do next?

We don’t know any better than you do, but after looking at these renderings, we’re left with little doubt that it should be the 320i Turbo. They’re the work of one Monholo Oumar – the same French designer who previously brought us Renault Spider and Megane RS renderings. And he could hardly have picked a better basis for this latest project.

The 320i Turbo, for those unfamiliar, was the dominant force that BMW unleashed on series like DTM, the European Touring Car Championship, and the World Championship of Marques in the late 1970s.

The successor to the 3.0 CSL, it was designed to meet the FIA’s Group 5 specifications. It was ostensibly based on the E21 – the first-generation 3 Series, but packed a 2.0-liter turbo four lifted from BMW’s Formula 2 racer, producing 300 horsepower. In the hands of the legendary BMW Junior Team, it won its first race and dominated many more to secure numerous championships as its drivers worked their way up to Formula One.

With only 28 examples made, a celebrated racing pedigree, and such eye-catching aero, the 320i Turbo looks prime for the Hommage treatment. But even if the manufacturer doesn’t, at least these renderings will pay tribute where tribute is due.