KEY POINTS:
One of the world's most eye-catching concept cars will be one of the main attractions at this month's Melbourne motor show.
The BMW M1 Homage will be the centrepiece of the company's display alongside the new 7-Series, which was launched in New Zealand yesterday.
The Homage was developed by BMW's M division to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the BMW M1 supercar. It made its world debut at a Concours d'Elegance event at Lake Como, Italy, last April.
BMW has not revealed any production plans for the M1 Homage, despite plenty of speculation, saying only that it remains a tribute to the original supercar.
The original M1, a mid-engined vehicle intended for the racetrack, was designed by famed Italian stylist Giorgio Giugiaro, who took his inspiration from the BMW Turbo concept designed earlier by Paul Bracq.
Around 450 road-going M1s were sold from 1978 to 1981 in order to achieve the homologation needed for it to qualify for racing.
Although Lamborghini was engaged to help with the development and production of M1 prototypes, BMW took over control of the project.
BMW has not revealed what type of powerplant is installed in the mid-engined Homage but says the car has similar dimensions to the original model, except that its passenger cell is slightly larger.
The new model adopts many of the M1's original design themes, including the long wedge nose, low roofline, classic coupe outline and the wide body, but has regular headlights instead of the original pop-up versions.
Aerodynamic refinements include air vents below the roofline, with small flaps that guide air into the engine compartment.
The concept car's kidney-shaped grille guides air through to the engine while also forming the front section of the crash box, which BMW says is similar to that of the monocoque chassis in a Formula One car.
BMW design director Adrian van Hooydonk said the M1 Homage was a showcase of BMW's design capability.
"The BMW M1 Homage clearly manifests the creativity and potential of the BMW Design team. A project such as this is a valuable source of inspiration for our day-to-day work," he said.
BMW says that the iridescent "Liquid Orange" paintwork was exclusively developed for the M1 Homage and cites the classic 1970s M1 colour.
