BMW revives marcello gandini's 1970s classic garmisch concept car at concorso d'eleganza

update (08.17): following its debut at concorso d’eleganza, the BMW garmisch graced the lawns of pebble beach’s concours d’elegance 2019 in the concept car’s north american debut. with its ‘californian’ gold exterior color, the design celebrates the original designer’s signature geometric styling, as well as BMW’s historic relationship with italian design and coach-building. based on 2002 body, the car delights in details: its centerpiece kidney grille, honeycomb-patterned mesh at the rear, and clean, functional yet elegant accessories within the interior.

at the 2019 edition of concorso d’eleganza in villa d’este, italy, BMW has unveiled the recreation of the BMW garmisch, a classic concept car designed by marcello gandini for bertone. first presented at the geneva motorshow in 1970, the car simply vanished after its debut. with this revival, BMW pays homage to one of italy’s most influential car designers and adds an exciting chapter to the company’s history.

all images courtesy of BMW unless otherwise stated

since its inception, german car manufacturer BMW has been inspired and influenced by italy in terms of design and coach-building culture. take for example the lightweight aluminium BMW 328 mille miglia created at carrozzeria touring in the late 1930s, or the wedge-shaped BMW M1 designed by giorgetto giugiario — in them an exchange of concepts and ideas across the alps is evident.

marcello gandini arriving in the BMW garmisch to concorso d’eleganza in villa d’este
video © designboom

back in 1970, the BMW garmisch was developed by marcello gandini for bertone as an independent design proposal in order to highlight the studio’s creativity. ‘the original idea came from nuccio bertone himself who wanted to consolidate our existing relationship with BMW by designing a surprise show car for the geneva motorshow,’ recalls gandini, the creative mind in charge of bertone’s design department at the time.

‘we wanted to create a modern mid-sized coupe that was faithful to BMW’s design language, but that was also more dynamic and even a bit provocative,’ continued gandini. the resulting design features a clean and sleek side profile with a design feature that sets it apart from the rest: a vertical variation of BMW’s trademark radiator grill, which was flanked by square glass-covered headlights. other details include marcello gandini’s signature, a honeycomb-patterned mesh cover for the rear window and sports car-like louvres on the C-pillars.

special attention was also placed on the interiors of the car, adding an elegant piemontese touch to the rather functional and austere interior design trends of the time. inside, a vertical radio on the center console, a fold-out mirror for the passenger and a mix of colors and materials express this. according to the designer, even the car’s name was chosen to make an impression: ‘we picked the name garmisch because skiing was very popular in italy at that time. it evoked dreams of winter sports and alpine elegance.’

overall, the new recreated BMW garmisch showcases BMW’s expertise in design research and prototype building. few original documents of the car were found, so the interdisciplinary building team — formed by the BMW group design and BMW classic departments — had to revive every detail of the car’s exterior and interior from a limited selection of monochrome period images.

during the venture, marcello gandini himself was a great guide, contributing to the research process with memories from the creation of the car, giving insightful tips to the team on how to achieve key details like the color of the car. while the BMW design team used the latest 3D modelling technologies to revive the car, the BMW garmisch was coach-built by skilled craftsmen in turin, just like the original car almost 50 years ago.

‘when I first heard that BMW wanted to recreate the BMW garmisch, I was a bit surprised,’ marcello gandini recalls of his first meeting with adrian van hooydonk, senior vice president of BMW group design, who visited him in turin in the summer of 2018 to ask for the his approval. ‘now I am very pleased that I was able to be part of this project and happy that BMW chose to recall this enjoyable past. having seen the final car, it is hard for me to even distinguish it from the original.’

adrian van hooydonk, senior vice president of BMW group design and marcello gandini at concorso d’eleganza, where the car was presented
image © designboom