BMW M1 Homage will go into production

In a move that will beggar the belief of some, yet induce near hysteria in others, the BMW M1 Homage supercar will go into production. And then go head-to-head with the likes of the Audi R8, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster and Porsche Carrera GT.

Seemingly fed up with fellow Teutonics Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche hogging all the supercar limelight, word on the street implies that important suits at Munich have given the BMW M1 Homage – first seen on the millionaire's Italian Riviera playground last month - the surprise nod.

April's Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este gave a shocked motoring world initial insight at just what BMW engineers had been moonlighting on, although bosses were quick to scupper any damp dreams that this all-new M1 would become reality, going to lengths to describe it as 'purely a design exercise'.

Red herring or not, any relative details at this time remain patchy, but those close to BMW hierarchy insists that the Bavarian-automaker possess the know-how, the precise powertrain and infrastructure in place required to piece together a vehicle of this unique, demanding nature. And it's intent on proving it.

From what we can gather BMW will drop the historic M1 moniker, named after the original supercar that prowled urban landscapes between from 1978, before becoming extinct in 1981.

Quite how far from the M1 Homage, ahem, 'design exercise' the new BMW supercar will stray is open to whimsy, so prepare yourself for something as watered-down as the new VW Scirocco just in case. You can forget the stunning cobweb-style alloys before you go any further, as that's just folly. And you'd be slightly deluded to think that the heron-wing doors would make it.

The engine is cause for much debate, with a beefed-up version of BMW's 5.0-litre V10 that presently drives the M5 and M6 the most likely candidate to undertake the task of overtaking the Audi R8. Elsewhere, a fettled variant of its 4.0-litre V8 that powers the current M3 has been hinted at.