2006 BMW Concept Coupe Mille Migl Review

Specifications

BMW Concept Pays Tribute to Classic Mille Miglia Racers

Between 1927 and 1957, the Mille Miglia was one of the most significant automotive racing events. Considered by many European automobile enthusiasts as “the worlds most beautiful race”, the Mille Miglia was a 1000-mile jaunt through rural and coastal Italy, along hills, through valleys and amid cities. In its heyday, a win at the Mille Miglia had the same prestige as winning the 24 Heures Du Mans (24 Hours of Le Mans) or the 12 Hours of Sebring. Today, things are a little different; the Mille Miglia is still run annually, but to an entirely different attitude - its all about historic racing now.

Every year during the second week of May, the streets of Brescia, Italy are filled to capacity with thousands of fans who come out to this small town to watch the running of the historic race. Its a different kind of race nowadays, cars arent piloted by the Michael Schumachers of the world - Juan Fangio in the day - but are driven by enthusiasts and classic car collectors. The vehicles participating are widely varied, as was any vehicle originally raced in the competitive Mille Miglia, anything can be entered irregardless of year, body type, engine configuration or displacement. And while they may not have the latest in adjustable dampers and electro-magnetic clutches, the history and reputation of the cars and classic marques matter most.

With such great emphasis on the classic automobile, it comes as a surprise that BMW, a brand thats all about moving forward with new technology and design, has created a concept car that looks to yesteryear, just for the event.

Prior to this years race, the German automaker unveiled its tribute to the storied motorsport event and to the very cars that put the white and blue roundel on the map, the BMW Concept Coupe Mille Miglia 2006. While the new concept car cant participate in the race, it certainly has quite a history to live up to. Since 1936, BMW has been a player in the Mille Miglia and, since 1940 the brand has been a consistent winner. The most famous BMW with relevance to the race is the 1940 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe, the first BMW to ever win the race.

The Concept Coupe Mille Miglia 2006 is a stunning machine to look at; it is authentic and art-like. Designed to pay homage to the original racing 328s, the Coupe Concept features many shapes that render it a remarkable modern interpretation of the original. The concept features the skinny, tall, kidney grille, and large, circular headlamps, all mounted on a curved front fascia.  As your eyes work down and across the body, its easy to appreciate some of the classic aerodynamic shapes that cars during the 30s and 40s used, such as the sweeping, teardrop-shaped roof line, the enclosed rear wheel wells and the elongated tail. Other classic-car details include the split front windshield, and tiny, triangular rear windscreen.

Part of what makes the Mille Miglia concept car such an amazing vehicle to look at is how BMW has integrated the latest technologies, as well as its flaming surfaces school of styling. Check out the headlamps in closer detail: they are flat just like old-world lenses, but are filled with hundreds of LEDs - even higher-tech than most modern cars. Also, the front fenders trail backwards into a Z-shape, purposely put in place to reference the Z4-based M-Coupe, which this concept is based off. The classically-styled 20-inch wheels, the single, diagonal rear tail light stripe, and the massive side-exit triangular tail pipes are all touches that ooze class.

Underneath the dramatic bodywork lies a chassis and drivetrain of a modern sports car. BMW chose to loosely base the Mille Miglia 2006 off of the new M-Coupe floorpan. I stress loosely, because its not exactly your standard cut and paste job. The chassis had to be significantly overhauled to feature the historically-correct hinged roof design. While the M-Coupe has doors, the Mille Miglia doesnt; like the original 328 race car it features a raised floor, allowing for a lighter body and a more torsionally rigid structure. The concept is also significantly larger than the M-Coupe, as BMW stretched the chassis, increasing the cars overall length by 9.5 inches. Overall, the car is 1.6 inches shorter than the production M-Coupe.

Under the long, striking nose of the Mille Miglia Concept is BMWs famous M-Power 3.2-liter inline-six, as featured in the M-Coupe and M3. The 343 horsepower, 8,000 rpm engine passes through unmodified, but for a minor tweak to the inlet and exhaust system, enabling the refined engine to produce a race-car like noise at full throttle and idle. Like every BMW, the Mille Miglia is designed to be a driving machine; even in its concept state, BMW has worked to give the car aerodynamic-friendly features such as underbody spoilers, and bodywork sculpted to reduce drag, yet improve downforce.

As for the interior, the Coupe Concept has been styled to mimic the original 328. Interestingly, only three materials have been used to trim the cabin: stainless steel, untreated, oxblood colored cowhides, and Lycra fabric. High quality plastics have been excluded, in order to preserve the classic, minimalist and functional shape of the dashboard, console and doors. But its not all old-world for the Coupe Concept, as there are many beautiful design accents that could only be made using the latest cutting edge technology. All the lettering, logos and symbols found throughout the cabin have been embossed using laser etching. Very nice.