2006 BMW Mille Miglia Coupe Concept

BMW has unveiled a brand new concept car prior to the 2006 Mille Miglia. With hints of today’s BMW Z4 Coupe and one of BMW’s most famous racing cars, the BMW 328, the BMW Concept Coupe Mille Miglia 2006 took pride of place in Brescia, Italy yesterday (May 10) as this year’s entrants were scrutineered ahead of the event.

The Mille Miglia was resurrected in 1977 as an annual rally to celebrate one of the world’s great motor races. All vehicle models that competed in the original races between 1927 and 1957 are permitted an entry. Highlighting the 22 BMWs that have entered this year’s event, BMW’s latest concept looks back to these great racing cars. In particular the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe that was driven into the record books and past the chequered flag in the 1940 race.

It also looks ahead to future motor sport achievements, with a modified drivetrain and suspension from the new Z4 M Coupe providing the car’s power and control. A body 23 centimetres longer, and four centimetres lower, than BMW’s latest production sports car is set off by bespoke 20-inch alloy wheels on 245/40 R 20 tyres that complement the car’s powerful presence.

The concept car looks to both the past and the future in its styling and construction; it pays homage to the outstanding achievements of the engineers who contributed to BMW’s successful motor sport heritage, whilst confirming the passion to construct dynamic cars from the most modern materials and processes available. This remains a fundamental concept for today’s BMW road and race cars.

In the drive to win races and manufacture the ‘ultimate driving machine’, the techniques and materials may have changed beyond all recognition, but the drive and ambition remains the same.

Steeped in History

In the 1940 Mille Miglia, the winning BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe recorded an incredible, and thoroughly modern, 166.7 kmh average speed over the course’s 1,000 miles. This remains the fastest average speed for any Mille Miglia.

The BMW 328 was one of the most successful competitive vehicles in BMW’s long motor sport history. Introduced in 1936 the racing specification 328 won its class in almost every race in which it competed between 1936 and 1940, and continued winning races in the 1940s and 1950s.

In 2004, the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe became the first car to win both the Mille Miglia (1940) and the modern-day classical version of the race.
The design team responsible for the original 328 succeeded without the benefit of computers. Building models was the only option. But despite the digital revolution, modelling remains a fundamental part of the design process for today’s BMWs. The company’s designers remain loyal to this process as it connects them emotionally to the form of a new product. During the design of the BMW Concept Coupe Mille Miglia 2006, the designers took a step back in time and formed the car from plaster models rather than clay. Quite literally a more ‘hands-on’, labour intensive process. The result is a greater appreciation within the design team of why classic racing cars are perceived as more emotional and artistic objects than today’s computer-generated racing cars.

The concept car’s hinged hard-top roof is a reference to the relaxation of the rules at Le Mans when racing cars moved from soft-top to hard-top construction as closed vehicles became eligible to race. This precipitated the development of the 328 Touring Coupe from its roadster origins, allowing the model to develop further as a lightweight, aerodynamic ‘bespoke’ racing car. Similarly, the new Z4 Coupe has been derived from the Z4 Roadster soft-top as a ‘behind-the-scenes’ project driven by the designers’ enthusiasm. This coupe development leading to the production of the new Z4 M Coupe Racing car.