BMW Italia has put a one-off M3 on display at EICMA 2026, and it has nothing to do with motorcycles. The car sits in Hall 14 at the BMW Motorrad stand as a tribute to Alex Zanardi, built to mark what would have been his 60th birthday.

The car, badged "Tribute to Alex Zanardi," was built with Italian design studio BorromeoDeSilva on the current M3's body.

'Describing what Alex meant to BMW and to everyone who had the privilege of sharing part of the journey with him is far more difficult, because his memory remains extraordinarily alive.'

He added that Zanardi's bond with BMW ran from the race track to Paralympic podiums and, eventually, into social initiatives the driver helped build.

The timing isn't a coincidence. The display arrives alongside the M3's own 40th anniversary, and BMW Italia chose EICMA's motorcycle crowd, not a car show, to unveil it. Zanardi drove BMWs using hand controls after losing both legs in a 2001 crash at the Lausitzring.

Mechanically, the M3 Tribute is unchanged. BorromeoDeSilva's work is entirely cosmetic, focused on livery and cabin trim rather than the engine or chassis underneath the current M3.

BMW is treating it purely as a design and storytelling exercise, a way of marking a relationship that began with race wins and grew into off-track projects long after Zanardi stopped competing in cars full time.

Niccolò Zanardi, Alex's son, keeps that connection active today. He works as an ambassador for SpecialMente, BMW Italia's social responsibility program, and instructs at the BMW Driving Experience, including courses for disabled drivers that use an M2 fitted with special hand controls.

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