Building upon his growing portfolio of concept cars, designer David Obendorfer shares his latest work: the BMW 02 Reminiscence concept. The design pays homage to the 1602 Elektro-Antrieb — the car model that marked the luxury German car company’s first zero emissions project.

Modelled off the BMW 1602, which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966, the BMW 1602 Elektro-Antrieb was first unveiled during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich. The car, which looked almost identical to its predecessor, had one key difference: the combustion engine was replaced with a battery pack. Despite not going on to become manufactured, the two prototypes were used during the Olympic games to shuttle VIPs and served as support cars in long-distance events such as the marathon.

For this project, David Obendorfer has imagined a full electric remake of the 1602 Elektro-Antrieb, bringing the classic design into the 21st century. The main dimensions of the vehicle roughly coincide with those of the existing 2-series Coupé: 4510mm/1805mm/1400mm/2730mm (length/width/height/wheelbase).

Obendorfer explains, ‘my aim wasn’t to bring back all the characteristic 02-series’ design features at any cost, but rather build a respectful reinterpretation, and above all to keep it simple. Both the interior and the exterior design try to stay away from complicated surfaces and busy lines, by exploring a soft three-dimensionality, that somehow is able to communicate zero emissions.’