BMW Turns Skytop Concept Into a Real Car, Got Sold Out Before It Was Even Unveiled

1 week, 4 days ago - 3 November 2024, autoevolution

Blink and you will miss it. That is exactly what happened with BMW's upcoming Skytop. The German automaker is building a super exclusive model for connoisseurs and aficionados, and it is already sold out, announced Adrian van Hooydonk, head of BMW Group Design, during an event that took place at the House of BMW in Milan, Italy.

Fifty units. That is how many BMW will build of its limited edition Skytop targa model. Looking like a concept car that would never go into production, it is an actual model, which BMW is sending into production. Van Hooydonk describes the Skytop as exotic and says that building it is a dream come true.

Displayed at the 2024 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, on the shores of Lake Como, the model got everyone asking questions and some offering blank checks in an attempt to take it home. That is what convinced BMW to turn the concept car into a production model.

But the 50 units are were not for everyone. BMW offered the two-seater to an exclusive list of customers for an undisclosed price, which makes it impossible to get for everyone else.

BMW has done this before. The Bavarian carmaker rolled out the strictly limited-run BMW 3.0 CSL in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of BMW M GmbH and to pay homage to the "Batmobile" of the early 1970s.

Now, the Skytop comes as a tribute to the Bavarian iconic roadsters, such as the legendary 507 or the Z8 models.

Sporting muscular surfaces and precise lines painted in Floating Sundown Silver, the BMW Skytop is designed to put on a show of dynamism before it even turns a wheel, says the carmaker. The BMW applied the color gradient by hand by master painters.

The car sports an illuminated kidney grille, which is not as big as the state of Texas, and LED units positioned on aluminum carriers, with the slimmest profile currently available in the industry. These light units were exclusively developed for the model.

At the opposite end, there are taillights with a super slim design as well. The roadster feeling is enhanced by the leather-covered rollover bar behind the seats, the fully retractable rear window, and the leather-trimmed soft top consisting of two removable sections. When the top goes down, it stows away in a special compartment added to the luggage space.

The cabin is bathed in monochrome tones. Leather covers the seats, while crystal applications are embedded into the cockpit for that sumptuous on-board ambiance that BMW is after.

The BMW Live Cockpit Professional brings on board the BMW Head-Up Display, while the driver and passenger will enjoy the audio experience offered by the Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround Sound System.

The model did not go the electrification way, which makes it even more valuable for collectors in an era when everything needs to be plugged in. Built on the 8 Series chassis, the Skytop is set in motion by the 4.4-liter V8, which pumps out 617 horsepower (625 metric horsepower).

An eight-speed Steptronic Sport auto box puts the power down through all four wheels with the help of the BMW xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive.

The Skytop accelerates from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 kph) in 3.3 seconds. BMW hasn't disclosed when production starts and when the 50 super-exclusive customers will have their super-exclusive models delivered.