BMW Garmisch (Bertone) (2019)

An unusual surprise was prepared by the Bavarians in cooperation with the Italians for the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este elegance contest in 2019. BMW has painstakingly recreated a concept that went missing shortly after its debut in Geneva in 1970.

This is the BMW Garmisch coupe, the creation of the legendary Marcello Gandini, which he made for Bertone. The current sample, recreated as accurately as possible, millimeter by millimeter, was hand-assembled by craftsmen in Turin – in the same place where the original Garmisch was once built. And just like in 1970, the old BMW 2002 was taken as the basis for the project.

The two-door BMW Garmisch at one time was built on the initiative not of BMW, but of Nuccio Bertone himself, who invited the Bavarians to develop their style. Garmisch itself did not get into the series, but this car had a great influence on Paul Braque when he created the first generation of the BMW fifth series (recall, the sedan got on the assembly line in 1972). Then Marcello Gandini helped Paul with the exterior and can be considered a co-author of the appearance of the first “five”.

From the original show car, the company has only a few pictures left, and for the most part in black and white. Marcello Gandini himself helped to recreate the missing information about the 1970 concept. The maestro assisted the combined team of specialists from BMW Group Design and the BMW Classic division, remembering how certain parts looked like. He even specified what shade they were, so that the craftsmen were able to match the color as accurately as possible.