Photo: BMW
On the shore of Lake Como, the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is the venue where BMW decided to present the 2002ti Garmisch Concept. But as opposed to other blasts from the past produced in one example, this fellow here has been created from the ground up with 2019 know-how.
The reason BMW turned its focus back to the Garmisch is that the original vanished after the 1970 Geneva Motor Show. Developed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone to showcase the Italian company’s excellence in automotive design, the Garmisch started out as an idea from Nuccio Bertone himself.
“Building the BMW Garmisch for a second time gave us the opportunity to pay tribute to Mr. Gandini, recall one of his lesser-known cars and highlight Bertone’s stylistic influence on the evolution of BMW design,” said Adrian van Hooydonk, the senior vice president of the group’s design department. “For me, that alone was reason enough to do this project – filling in the gaps and completing BMW’s history.”
Being based on the 2002ti coupe, the Garmisch Concept features a 1,990-cc engine and a good ol’ four-speed manual transmission. As part of the 02 Series of executive cars, the 2002ti with the M05 engine develops 89 kW (121 PS; 119 horsepower) thanks to a pair of Solex carburetors.
In addition to the square glass-covered headlights and angular variation of the kidney-shaped grille, the Garmisch Concept features a honeycomb-patterned mesh over on the rear window and louvers on the C-pillars. The wheels are also special, as are the taillights.
Marcello Gandini, now 80 years of age, contributed to the recreation with memories from the original’s creation process. Input such as the light champagne metallic paintwork, interior materials, and trim helped the fabricators to recreate these essential parts with the help of 3D modeling technologies. The second concept – just like the original from five decades ago - was coach-built by hand in Turin by skilled craftsmen.
“When I first heard that BMW wanted to recreate the BMW Garmisch, I was a bit surprised,” said Gandini in regard to his meeting with Adrian van Hooydonk in the summer of 2018. “Having seen the final car, it is hard for me to even distinguish it from the original.”
“Building the BMW Garmisch for a second time gave us the opportunity to pay tribute to Mr. Gandini, recall one of his lesser-known cars and highlight Bertone’s stylistic influence on the evolution of BMW design,” said Adrian van Hooydonk, the senior vice president of the group’s design department. “For me, that alone was reason enough to do this project – filling in the gaps and completing BMW’s history.”
Being based on the 2002ti coupe, the Garmisch Concept features a 1,990-cc engine and a good ol’ four-speed manual transmission. As part of the 02 Series of executive cars, the 2002ti with the M05 engine develops 89 kW (121 PS; 119 horsepower) thanks to a pair of Solex carburetors.
In addition to the square glass-covered headlights and angular variation of the kidney-shaped grille, the Garmisch Concept features a honeycomb-patterned mesh over on the rear window and louvers on the C-pillars. The wheels are also special, as are the taillights.
Marcello Gandini, now 80 years of age, contributed to the recreation with memories from the original’s creation process. Input such as the light champagne metallic paintwork, interior materials, and trim helped the fabricators to recreate these essential parts with the help of 3D modeling technologies. The second concept – just like the original from five decades ago - was coach-built by hand in Turin by skilled craftsmen.
“When I first heard that BMW wanted to recreate the BMW Garmisch, I was a bit surprised,” said Gandini in regard to his meeting with Adrian van Hooydonk in the summer of 2018. “Having seen the final car, it is hard for me to even distinguish it from the original.”
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