BMW Is Making 70 Of These Gorgeous M8-Based Speedtop Shooting Brakes
Last year BMW unveiled the beautiful 8 Series–based Skytop concept at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, a few months later announcing that it would be building a limited run of 50 production cars that would look nearly identical to the concept. We have yet to see the production Skytop yet, but this year's Villa d'Este gathering is upon us, and BMW has revealed a new concept called the Speedtop that is essentially a shooting brake version of the Skytop.
The Speedtop looks absolutely gorgeous, and like its sibling it won't remain just a concept — BMW already announced that it will be making 70 Speedtops, available to order now. People were sad that the Z4 shooting brake concept from Villa d'Este 2023 was never made, but I think this is much better. It won't come to the U.S., sadly, but that doesn't mean we can't drool over the details. Head of design Adrian van Hooydonk says the Speedtop is "an exclamation mark for our entire lineup of vehicles, especially for the Touring models," and BMW describes the car as being perfect for a two-person weekend getaway.
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Aside from chrome strakes in the grilles and intakes, the Speedtop is identical to the Skytop from the A-pillar forward, which is totally fine. With their shark nose front ends, clean surfacing, Bangle-like tail ends and thoughtful detailing, the Speedtop and Skytop are a lot more elegant and exciting than BMW's other current offerings, and certainly more beautiful than anything the company has put out since the i8.
Obviously, the biggest changes are at the roofline and the rear end. The tailgate is raked steeply forward, with a sharp spoiler at the edge of the roof. The C-pillar's Hofmeister kink is both simpler and more dramatically shaped than what we've seen on other recent Bimmers, and the car's profile overall is quite athletic. The Floating Sunstone Maroon paint of the show car fades into Floating Sundown Silver in a gradient on the roof, which is bisected by a physical spine that appears to run from the tip of the nose all the way to the tail. BMW also gave the Speedtop different wheels from the Skytop, with a more open, less turbofan-style design.
While I wish the interior of the Speedtop was more differentiated from the 8 Series on which it's based, the color scheme, details and cargo area make up for it. Everything is finished in Sundown Maroon and Moonstone White leather, and there are painted trim pieces that match the exterior color — thankfully there's no carbon fiber in sight. The two-tone split of the headliner echoes the design of the car's roof, with the spine being an ambient light bar. All of the leather is enhanced with brogue detailing, and thankfully there's a lot of BMW's faceted crystal trim, including in the headrests.
Behind the two seats are open spaces for a pair of fancy matching handbags made by Schedoni, and between the two cubbies is a waterfall-style console with additional storage space. There's a third weekend bag that goes in the leather-lined trunk, which has multiple adjustable levels that reveal a fairly deep partially enclosed space and ambient lighting that encircles it all.
BMW hasn't given any specs for the Speedtop beyond saying it has "the most powerful V8 engine" that the company currently sells. We know the car will use the M8 as its basis, which will mean at least 617 horsepower, all-wheel drive and fairly advanced chassis systems. The Skytop has been spied testing at the Nürburgring, so the Speedtop should have at least some sporting pretensions.
Bernd Körber, senior vice president of the BMW brand and product management, says the Skytop "generated great enthusiasm among connoisseurs and automotive enthusiasts," and because of that positive reaction the Speedtop was able to be greenlit. BMW hasn't yet said how much the Speedtop will cost, but the Skytop will cost around $500,000, so expect the Speedtop to be at least that much. We don't know exactly when it'll enter production either, but the first Skytops will reach their owners early next year.
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