Well, here it is - following the teaser earlier this month, this is the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage revealed in all its glory ahead of its appearance at the Concours d'Elegance at the Villa d'Este, in Italy.
And we'll be honest with you: BMW has sent us a decent length press release in which there's lots of talk about what each and every section of its design is meant to symbolise, and how it is all suitably expressive and... ah, who are we kidding?! Just look at it. It is possibly one of the most beautiful things we've seen in the automotive world for a long, long time. And we called it correctly on the preview: it is finished in Golf Yellow, one of the colours of the 1970s CSL original. Glorious.
A heavily carbon-fibre creation with a magnificent interior straight out of the 'Book Of Futuristic Cabins That Are Stunning But Have No Chance Of Making Production', BMW's top brass is clearly very proud of the Hommage. Adrian van Hooydonk, senior vice president for BMW Group Design, said: "Our Hommage cars not only demonstrate how proud we are of our heritage, but also how important the past can be in determining our future. The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage represents a nod to the engineering achievement exemplified by the BMW 3.0 CSL in its lightweight design and performance. With intelligent lightweight construction and modern materials, the 3.0 CSL Hommage brings the character of that earlier model into the 21st century, showing it in a new and exciting guise."
And Karim Habib, head of BMW Design, is equally effusive: "For BMW designers like us, the BMW 3.0 CSL is a style icon. Its combination of racing genes and elegance generates an engaging aesthetic that continues to win hearts even today. The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage celebrates many of those characteristic features, but without copying them. Indeed, some of the parallels are not immediately obvious. We wanted people to sense the family resemblance rather than see it straight off."
Anything else?
What none of the above hints at (although van Hooydonk's reference to 'our future' is intriguing) is what happens next in this car's incredible story. Are we looking at the next 6 Series? Are we looking at an all-new 8 Series or higher? Could it be a BMW i-product, of some sort? Who knows? But we're sure of one thing: this has to make production somehow or other, even if it's freakishly expensive and built in tiny numbers. Come on, BMW, do us all proud!