BMW took the jacket of his latest concept car at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este this past weekend. Nicknamed the M1 Tribute, the concept is exactly what it says on the tin: a tribute to the iconic M1 designed by Giorgio Giugiaro, which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year.

The design of the M1 Tribute concept is a modern interpretation of the original – in competition with a louvered rear window – but it has grown in size over its thirty years ancestor. Although a low-slung coupe aggressive proportions, the overall design appears as a caricature of lithe its name and its wide and low position is almost cartoon-like.

BMW double kidney grille dominates the front, while the pop-up headlamps were buried in favour of more traditional embedded in the first cutline. Like the original, the hood louvers remain as air ball in front of the B pillar to cool mid-mounted engine. True to form language BMW however, the surface of the bodyside is wonderfully detailed, with flowing lines accentuate the dynamic character of the hip back.