Actually, a tribute should always be paid to a person, since another word for tribute, is homage, derived from Latin 'homo' meaning Man. The tribute is directed at the designers and technicians at BMW, who created the racing-coupé in the 1970s. There was, by the way, already a straight-six-cylinder with 3- and later 3,2 litres of capacity, which was derived from the standard 3.0 CS (Coupé Sport).
The 'L' indicated the lightweight construction, in the case of this vehicle, approx 200 kg less. The bonnet- the boot-lid, and the doors were made of aluminium, the windows were perspex. Instead of aluminium, BMW of course, endeavours to put its own production of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic in the foreground. From a tribute,to a finger pointing towards the future.
The prototype was presented at the famous Concorso d'Eleganza, which takes place annually in the Grand Hotel, Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio at Lake Como. Here, by no means, can just any car be presented, simply because it's old. The limited admission is reserved for very valuable vehicles, in perfect condition and paired with an interesting history. Only after the tribute, did BMW become a candidate.
Basically, there are two cars being presented. First of all, there's the classic coupé shape with the BMW 'kidney' and slit-like lighting in the front. At least it is still credited with the twin headlamp countenance. The fender is a shell-like second layer, coming up the side from below and curling around the 21 inch wheels, to end at the beading of the bonnet. Thus the air-deflectors, which in the past, were directly mounted on the mudguards, have had to be slightly lifted.
Even the original colour has been maintained: Golf Yellow, something between yellow and green, with the deflectors in black. Looking from the rear, the track-widening second layer ends at the rear spoiler, which has remained as narrow as it was in the past, this time however, without having further contact with the rear-end. Also the second spoiler on the roof is back again. Up to this point, the designers have more or less kept to the original, indeed, for the rest of the rear-end,they have let their creativity run free.
The interior is where all hell finally breaks loose. There is no steering wheel in the classic sense and the carbon used is finally put to show. Only the colour reminds us of the wooden veneer of former times. The rear-view mirrors have been reduced to cameras. We nearly forgot to mention the sidepipe-exhaust on the right, which leads from the engine which now has 412 kW (560 HP) with eboost and is about three times as powerful as before.
At that time, more than 1000 examples of the CS were built, this one only once. Rather a pity. 06/15