BMW to build an R8 rival?

You can be sure BMW has been watching Audi's success with the R8 with great interest.

Unlike Audi of course BMW has done the mid-engined supercar thing before, with its legendary M1 of the late 70s. And in a celebration of the M1 turning 30 it has built what it is describing a 'homage'.
 

Shown at the super exclusive Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este in Italy this week, the M1 is a celebration of BMW's brief flirtation with the world of mid-engined supercars. But could it signal the company is considering having another go? If it looks as good as this you'd hear few complaints.

The wedgey Guigiaro-designed M1 embodied 70s supercar culture, its fiercely modernist styling incorporating classic BMW features but contrasting fiercely with the deeply conservative product line up of the time. The delicate, chrome detailing of the Paul Bracq-era 2002 was abandoned, for a much more high-tech, hard-edged look.
 

With the M1 Homage controversial BMW designer Chris Bangle sees a link between the two eras. "In the spirit of Guigiaro and Bracq, the M1 Homage unites values of design and technology in a highly emotional and exciting interpretation." So much for the corporate chest beating - will they actually build it for real?

Well, underneath visual references to the original M1 - note the wheels, the louvred rear hatch and miniature kidney grille among them - BMW mentions functional issues as engine cooling and crash boxes. And, as design chief Adrian van Hooydonk puts it, "A project such as this is valuable source of inspiration for our day-to-day work."

We'll see whether that extends to a true successor to the M1 or not. But for now this stunning concept provides a fitting celebration for a car that, 30 years on, is only just receiving the true recognition it deserves.