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A Styling Non Sequitur

August 16, 2011 by Matt

BMW 328 Homage

I don’t get this one.

I want to give the designers the benefit of the doubt, but it just doesn’t pass the “obvious test;” in other words, when all’s said and done, what does the object in question most obviously resemble? And the answer in the 328 Homage’s case: An angry beaver. Once that comparison is stuck in your mind, there’s no getting around it.

The larger question is, how exactly is it an homage? Here’s the original ’36-’40 car, for reference:

Original BMW 328

So there’s a superficial resemblance in some of the details, like the wheels, hood straps, split windshield and long-nose / short-deck proportions. But otherwise… There’s little, if anything, in the homage that unambiguously recalls the original. I don’t think the homage needs to slavishly ape the original, either, but there’s a way to honor a legend stylistically without having to resort to campy details and the beat-me-over-the-head-with-it title of “BMW 328 Homage.” If I can’t draw the connections myself and be impressed with the coherence of the effort, the designers haven’t done their job. And with the Homage, they most certainly phoned it in. Thumbs down.

Filed under: Aesthetics, BMW, Concept Cars, News

1 Comment

  1. John D says:

    A dead, angry beaver to be precise. (Did you miss the ‘x’ over the eyes…?)

    I actually think it’s kind of cool. First thing I thought is a Z4 on steroids…and with cancer, elephantitis, etc. But now that you mentioned angry beaver, well…there’s pretty much nothing else that comes to mind that can trump that image. Ah well.

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