BMW Mille Miglia Concept, Pearl White

The first sketches of the Mille Miglia Concept came from Anders Warming, BMW's lead exterior designer on the project. To get under the skin of the historic racing cars, he was sent to Italy to build a plaster model, which was then scanned and developed further in Munich. Plaster rather than the usual clay was a deliberate choice, a slower, less forgiving material that makes every step a considered one. Between the early drawings and the finished car the design grew more radical still: the separate rear lamps of the sketches were dropped, leaving a single asymmetric strip across the tail. The result, a 2006 one-off on Z4 M Coupé running gear, honours the 328 Touring Coupé that won the 1940 Mille Miglia.

This piece is finished in pearl white, a lustrous white with a soft pearlescent sheen that gives the curves a faint silvery glow. The cabin is red, with ribbed seats, steering wheel, door panels and gear lever set against a silver dashboard and console and a roll cage, and the red is picked up outside in the gill inserts and the lamp strip that crosses the tail. The black mesh kidney grille, frosted round headlamps, carbon-patterned mirrors and red tow eye finish the front. Built at 1:18, it sits on a grey stitched base with a black plaque bearing the BMW roundel, reading 'Limited', one of 7.