The BMW 2002 is often considered the Granddaddy of the sport “saloon” segment. While it isn’t the first of its kind, that title goes to the beautiful Alfa Romeo Giulia (Tipo 105 in Alfa-speak), the 2002 brought the segment and that type of car to the mainstream. So it’s only natural that BMW enthusiasts have fond feelings for the old-school 2002. However, would you want to turn a more modern BMW into a retro-style 2002 hommage? That’s exactly what German company Everytimer Automobile will do to your E88 BMW 1 Series Convertible.

Essentially, Everytimer Automobile takes your 1 Series Convertible and completely redoes the body work, using advanced composite materials, to make it look like a classic BMW 2002. Now, it’s a surprisingly decent looking car. It looks more like a 2002 than the description might make it sound. It’s certainly got a retro-hommage thing going on that’s quite charming.

The front end especially looks good, with the classic singular headlights and skinny Kidney Grilles. The back, though, is a bit odd looking. Admittedly, it’s really hard to restyle modern cars, as so much of the body shell is incorporated into the chassis. With that in mind, EA has done an impressive job. Though, I’m not so sure it’s a good looking car. It’s interesting but kind of odd as well.

Though, the idea of having a 2002-like car with modern amenities; such as heated leather seats, automatic gearbox, navigation and a power folding top; is quite nice. However, there’s one flaw in that logic — it’s probably easier and cheaper to just retromod an actual BMW 2002.

You can get a pretty worn classic 2002 for less than $3,000. From there, you have a blank canvas with which to work and you can retromod the hell out of it. You can fit a more modern engine, transmission, suspension, brakes, interior and technology for likely a lot less than another company is willing to charge you to do it. I’m not saying that this BMW 1 Series/2002 hommage isn’t a good car but I’m not sure the value is there. It’s very interesting and is kind of cool but is it really better than a real retromodded BMW 2002?

[Source: Everytimer Automobile]