MUNICH, Germany - BMW has unveiled a new concept touring bike at the Competition of Elegance of Villa d'Este along Lake Como, Italy - the Concept 101.
BMW's Motorrad's head of design, Edgar Heinrich, explains: "The Concept 101 opens up a new chapter in the history of our concept bikes. It's BMW Motorrad's interpretation of endless highways and the dream of freedom and independence - the perfect embodiment of "American touring".
"Designing this big touring bike study was amazingly exciting for us because we've never been involved with a motorcycle concept such as this. To me, the Concept 101 is the epitome of elegance, power and luxury on two wheels."
A BAVARIAN 'BAGGER'
The name "Concept 101" is a reference to its engine capacity; the capacity of its six cylinders is 1649cc - equivalent to 101 cubic inches, which is the American unit of measurement for cylinder capacity.
The number 101 is also derived from where the bike was created, not far from Highway 101, at the design studios of the BMW Group subsidiary Designworks in Newbury Park, California.
IMAGE GALLERY: 2015 BMW Concept 101
BMW Motorrad's head of vehicle design, Ola Stenegard, said: "We had a clear vision when we were designing the bike: under the motto 'The Spirit of the Open Road' we wanted to build a high-performance, emotional and highly exclusive six-cylinder vehicle that would make every ride a special experience."
The concept is BMW's interpretation of a "bagger" - a custom bike popular in the US. It has an elongated and streamlined silhouette and two side cases typical of baggers.
UNIQUE DESIGN
The bike was built by custom motorcycle specialist Roland Sands in collaboration with BMW Motorrad.
It has an exhausts on each side, each with three outlets - one for each cylinder. BMW says the bike's unique exhaust layout helps apply the sound of the six-cylinder unit. The bike is painted silver with aluminium, carbon-fibre and wood elements.
It has an unusual rear light-cluster with dark-coloured sections forming two LED bands, reminiscent of classic road cruisers.
The seat sports is upholstered in black leather with fine-grain leather along each side with brown leather strips separating the two.
Ain't it gorgeous?