First, the bad news — BMW says the striking concept shown at the recent Villa d'Este concours in Italy is not destined for production. But...when Adrian van Hooydonk, the head of design for BMW automobiles, said, "The BMW M1 Homage clearly manifests the creativity and potential of the BMW Design team," and later added that "a project such as this is a valuable source of inspiration for our day-to-day work," well, maybe there is hope for a BMW supercar down the road.

Regardless, the M1 Homage is just plain cool. The reason the car exists is to mark the 30th anniversary of the BMW M1, which to this day is still one of the most lust-worthy sports cars ever created. The original M1 was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, based on the BMW Turbo concept penned by Paul Bracq. The new M1 Homage comes straight from the BMW Group Design team.

Although we can dream about the M1 Homage becoming a production-car reality, the fact is it doesn't even have an interior and this "mid-engine concept" isn't a "runner" — it has to be pushed to move at all. Still, it looked stunning at Villa d'Este, positioned alongside the M1 and the BMW Turbo, painted in Liquid Orange in honor of the hallmark M1 colors of black and orange. The twin BMW logos on the rear of the M1 Homage are also in honor of those on the M1 production car, as are the air vents in the hood and the classic louvers on the back window. BMW says the M1 Homage's exterior dimensions "are in keeping with those of the M1; only the extended wheelbase indicates a larger passenger cell." Which, of course, we couldn't see, because there is no interior.

Other cool features of the M1 Homage include "invisible headlamps" and a squat version of the trademark BMW grille, the last which also serves as a way to route cool air to the engine. The headlamps truly are almost invisible, recessed into the design of the car's nose — until they are switched on, that is.

BMW officials left us with this thought: They said the BMW M1 Homage "is designed as a source of inspiration; it sets out to challenge us to question and rethink what we see around us." Hopefully they'll question why a company with a top-flight Formula 1 team doesn't have a true supercar.