M8, but different
Are we looking at a concept car from ten years ago? Not at all, because this BMW Concept Skytop will be presented this weekend in Villa d’Este.
Don’t get us wrong: the Concept Skytop looks really modern. The thought that this is an older car is mainly fueled by the fact that the Skytop has an elegance that we have rarely seen from BMW in recent years. It has no gigantic grille, no overly in-your-face M parts, no ridiculous exhausts and no black wheels or other accents. Instead, it looks tidy, sleek and graceful, and we forgive BMW that the illuminated edge around the kidney grille did slip through the planing session.
The Skytop is a two-seater roadster, but due to the enormous integrated roll bar it is not completely open. However, the window in the bracket can be opened, so that air can still flow into the cabin. What is special is the way in which the brown interior on the enormous aft deck seems to gradually transition into the silver-gray carriage. The roof itself is not an ingenious folding origami piece of art, but consists of two leather-covered panels that you can simply remove and store.
With V8
The interior comes straight from the 8-series, although it is a lot browner here.
Unlike many other concept cars, the Skytop is not completely new. Doors, exterior mirrors and interior give away that it is actually ‘just’ a heavily renovated 8-series convertible, but that is of course no shame. In this way, BMW shows what is possible based on that car and creates a very exclusive-looking roadster. The 8 Series that was sacrificed for this project was an M8 Competition. This is not visible, but it is evident from BMW’s statement that the most powerful V8 in the line-up can be found under the hood. This brand new BMW is elegant, but not electric: it looks like a dream.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl