BMW’s ‘Turbomeister’ concept celebrates the 2002

One of the most iconic cars in BMW’s history, the 1973 BMW 2002 Turbo, was honored Thursday in the BMW Living Legends Garage at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as part of the brand’s centennial celebration during Monterey Car Week.

The 2002 celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year and is being recognized for its significant role in BMW’s history and motorsports heritage as the first European production car to come with a turbocharger and for re-establishing the brand as a serious competitor in racing. The 2002 Turbo also set the stage for the 3-Series to follow.

At the conclusion of the first practice and qualifying session at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion, BMW showcased the 2002 Hommage Turbomeister concept car.

“The BMW 2002 Hommage celebrates the extraordinary feats of engineering on which BMW turbo technology is based and re-interprets them in the form of a design study,” said Michael Scully of BMW Design. “With its iconic orange and black paintwork, the car has a color scheme and livery synonymous in the minds of many motorsport fans with the triumphs of the 1970s.”

The orange and black livery gives the car its “Turbomeister” status, which includes Turbomeister badges and Turbo logos littered throughout the car. The design also includes a set of single, gold headlights and a carbon fiber accent that runs the length of the body, in a similar fashion to the classic 2002s chrome strip.

Additionally, the concept is largely based of the M2 chassis, though the front is more squared than the M2 and the body is mostly made of carbon composites.