A new, limited-edition BMW halo car at last? Bavarian Motor Works should be able to make fifty of these show-stopping targa-top cars based on the eight series and sell each one for USD 500,000. Before it was shown for the first time at the 2024 Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza, we took the open-air two-seater for a short ride. People with great minds have similar thoughts. BMW has been a part of the Concorso d’Eleganza for 25 years and showed off the beautiful Concept Skytop there. A few days before, Mercedes showed off the first of its Mythos cars in Monte Carlo. It was the stunning PureSpeed Spider, an SL-based car with F1 styling that will only be made in small numbers starting in 2025. Like the Benz, the fast and beautiful BMW was unveiled at Italy’s famous Villa d’Este. It is a strong, two-seater car that was built just for you and can be driven outside. The Skytop’s goal is to become a collector’s item that is made by hand. The automaker’s Dingolfing factory’s new coachbuilding wing should finish the first of at most 50 pieces (though one source said 100) by the end of next year if the board agrees with the idea. According to rumors, the base price will be $542,000. This makes sense since the M8 cabriolet source car costs more than $207,000 before any extras. The crazy futuristic 2006 Mille Miglia concept made by Chris Bangle and his team was the first thing BMW showed off at the yearly Villa d’Este event. In 2008, Benoit Jacob made the M1 Hommage, which teased the amazing but unfinished i8. In 2015, Karim Habib made the 3.0 CSL Hommage, which brought back the magic of the original 1973 lightweight coupe. In 2016, the 2002 Hommage filled in the gaps between the unfinished 2002 turbo and the M2 Competition. The firing brake Z4 from the previous year was almost ready for production, but all of the nine show cars shown on the shores of Lake Como still needed to be made. As of 2024, all bets are off on the Skytop, which was written by Marcus Syring and will affect future Alpina models. Director of BMW Group Design Adrian van Hooydonk is excited to say that “the Concept Skytop offers a combination of driving dynamics and elegance at the highest level, comparable to Unlike the Z8 or 503, the Skytop doesn’t have back seats but is similar in size to the M8 cabriolet. Instead, we have a strong rollover/Targa top safety piece that can also be used as a B-pillar and has the famous Hofmeister kinks. The power-operated decklid with a lip and the finned rear side panels have long, sharp creases that meet at the ends. The two roof panels have to be taken apart and put away in the trunk, which is much smaller than the car’s size would suggest. With the exception of the doors and windshield, the metal is brand new. The Skytop may not be the most attractive building. Even the big 21-inch rear wheels are dwarfed by the huge filler cap. The brightly polished wheels stand out against the DLO’s aluminum brightwork, and the wide geometric rocker panel doesn’t go with the soft lines and curves of the sides. But the front end is perfect. When was the last time we said that about a brand-new BMW? The flying double-kidney grille is lit up at night. The small horizontal bars on the rear diffuser, lateral air intakes, and lower air intakes are painted anthracite instead of black. This looks great with the terracotta over the champagne color scheme. The L-pattern taillights and the incredibly thin, bright four-dot LED headlights are classy updates to a classic design. Inside is black and white But the Skytop’s inside shines and makes all the difference. This item doesn’t have any of the usual luxury features, like too much metal, wood everywhere, fancy stitching, flashy displays, or silly contrasting piping. Instead, the design team chose a driver’s area that was highly finished, all one color, and covered from wall to wall in soft, expensive leather. There are some nice touches, like pink crystal inlays, flush speaker covers, leather-wrapped sills, a hole pattern on the seats and door panels that look like brogues, and a vertical rear window that lowers with a button press, like on the 6-series. The roof panels and Targa bar are covered in what we hope is waterproof hide trim. The long, boattail-shaped rear deck is painted in a beautiful two-tone finish that goes well with the cabin’s bright and dark colors. A short trip What is it like to use Munich Dreamworks’ newest invention? It’s hard to say because we had to be careful. Any stone chip, oil stain, or grease mark would have taken away from the amazing look of the piece, which was supposed to happen the next day. It moved slowly, and the area could only be reached by Villa Erba’s private, gated dirt paths since there were no license plates or registration papers. The driver will notice these three things even before getting in the car. From the front of the car to the back, there is a spine that goes from body color to gold and looks like a stingray. It is said that the metal door handles on this car were influenced by those on the Neue Klasse X show car. They are small, set upright, and hug the windows. The inside is as beautiful and well-made as any Rolls-Royce, and it’s comfortable and attractive. Unfortunately, the instruments are standard 8-series ones, with no round dials, cool vintage accents, or changes to uncomfortable ergonomics. The Skytop’s top, on the other hand, feels more like a big window than a normal convertible top, and the view from the better-shaped hood is also very different. The driver feels incredibly alone thanks to the cocooning effect and better-than-expected three-quarter sight. There are some bad things about it. For a car this size, the packing could be better, but a power-operated roof like the clever glass roof of the Ferrari 550 Superamerica could have been a good replacement. Also, giving the 625-hp V-8 engine a little more power helped justify the car’s expected high price. If creative people really do think alike, then why is it so easy for Mercedes to make limited-edition Mythos cars but so hard for BMW with its halo-car competitors? Is it because Mercedes has more valuable donor cars like the SL, Gullwing, G-class, C111, Maybach, and AMG GT that can be used for specials that will only be made in small numbers? We’d love for the Skytop to be used as a model for BMW’s new, more focused Bespoke Strategy. This would include very specific, but possibly big, changes to the body panels as well as improvements to the color and trim. Watch this place and the 2020 Concorso d’Eleganza closely.
