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BMW showing all eight of its 'hommage' vehicles at Villa d'Este

BMW is paying a tribute of sorts to its tribute vehicles by bringing together all eight "hommage" concept vehicles for the first time. BMW will exhibit its hommage cars and bikes at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, which takes place near Italy's Lake Como this weekend. The vehicles will be shown off in the Padiglione Centrale at Villa Erba as part of BMW's "The Next 100 Years" campaign. BMW's first tribute vehicle was 1997's MINI ACV (Anniversary Concept Vehicle) 30, a two-seat, mid-engined, right-hand-drive car that the automaker produced to pay tribute to the UK brand's past while hinting at what BMW would subsequently do with the iconic badge. The automaker followed with its BMW Concept Coupe Mille Miglia in 2006, and then officially started grouping the concept cars in 2008 under the hommage designation with the introduction of the BMW M1 Hommage. That car marked the 30th anniversary of the original BMW M1. View 17 Photos Since then, there have been the BMW 328 Hommage (2011), the BMW Concept Ninety motorcycle (2013), and the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage (2015). In addition to paying tribute to the iconic 1970s-era coupe, last year's concept car showed off advances the company has made in its light-weighting efforts. This year, BMW is adding the BMW 2002 and BMW Motorrad R 5 Hommage to the party. The Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este also features about 50 historic cars built between the 1920s and 1980s. For more information from BMW, take a look at the press release below. Tradition as inspiration. The BMW Group's Hommage vehicles come together for the first time at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2016. Munich/Cernobbio. With BMW's centenary headline "The Next 100 Years" in mind, the BMW Group is bringing together, for the first time, the full line-up of Hommage vehicles unveiled over recent years. They will be joined on display at a special exhibition titled "Hommage and Concept Vehicles" in the Padiglione Centrale at Villa Erba by the models from the past that inspired them. Munich/Cernobbio. With BMW's centenary headline "The Next 100 Years" in mind, the BMW Group is bringing together, for the first time, the full line-up of Hommage vehicles unveiled over recent years. They will be joined on display at a special exhibition titled "Hommage and Concept Vehicles" in the Padiglione Centrale at Villa Erba by the models from the past that inspired them.

Cafe racer motorbikes storm Japan

Japan may be best known, at least among motorcycle enthusiasts, for its sport bikes. But as we found at the Tokyo Motor Show this year, Japanese motorcycle manufacturers are capable of producing all kinds of motorbikes. And to our delight, that includes cafe racers.
Along with the myriad electric bikes, dirt bikes, crotch rockets and scooters, the halls of Tokyo's Big Site convention center this year were full of the retro-infused rides we love. Chief among them was the Bolt (shown above) which Yamaha exhibited alongside their various electric two-wheelers, sporting a delicious metallic blue paintjob, inverted handlebars and hanging mirrors, machined metal bits, blacked-out trim and saddle brown leatherwork.
Honda was also on hand with a new EX version of its '70s-style CB1100 retro roadster in sinister and low-key matte black. And this was our first chance to check out BMW Motorrad's new birthday present to its 90-year-old self, the R NineT, a model recently unveiled at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan. But one of the most amusing retro rides we came across was the Honda Monkey Limited, a mini bike that makes the new 125cc Grom (which was displayed alongside it) look positively gigantic.

2015 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe

It's hard to say what a coupe is anymore. Is it merely a car with two doors? Does it have to have an arching roofline? Do frameless windows count for anything? Can a five-door hatchback or even an SUV be a coupe? At some point in the last few years, nearly everything we thought made a coupe a coupe has been challenged by something that calls itself a coupe, but to most people isn't. Our friends at BMW have led most of this line of questioning.
The new 2015 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe is one of the latest Bimmers to challenge the moniker (which also challenges the idea of "Gran," for that matter), and unlike some of its other "coupe" variations - we're looking at you, X6 - this one is a pretty one. The 4 Series Gran Coupe is essentially a four-door version of the 4 Series, which is itself a two-door version of the 3 Series. Huh? Wouldn't that simply make it another 3 Series? Of course, but this one is prettier, as it uses the 4's sexier body styling, with its lower nose, wider-looking stance and edgier lighting graphics. It is also technically a five-door hatchback, not a sedan per se, and it utilizes frameless side door glass, which apparently does count for something in BMW coupe-land. Significantly, the 4 Gran Coupe's wheelbase is identical to the two-door; if it was longer - as is the case with the 3 Series and 5 Series hatchbacks - that might make it a "Gran Turismo." Confused yet?
We recently got our first chance to drive the 4 Series Gran Coupe at a press launch in Spain, and while the only version we were given was a rear-drive 428i Gran Coupe with the M Sport contents, the harrowing roads around Bilbao gave us a good idea of what this car is all about from a driving dynamics standpoint. Here's some of what we found: