BMW might be planning to build just 50 copies of the ultra-exclusive Skytop that it showcased at the Villa d’Este last year, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a serious car. The 8 Series-based BMW show car turned road car still has to undergo at least some of the same testing you’d expect for any other BMW-built car. The Ultimate Driving Machine has to be tested on track at the legendary Nürburgring. As the latest from the CarBuzz spy photographers show, the incredible Skytop is no different, even if its owners will almost certainly never push their cars this hard or in this environment.
BMW
BMW is a German luxury car and motorbike manufacturer and current owner of Mini, Rolls-Royce, and Alpina. With roots dating back to 1913 as Rapp Motorenwerke, it officially became Bayerische Motoren Werke in 1922 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines. BMW’s first car was built in 1928 when it built the Austin 7 under license from Dixi, which was called the BMW 3/15. BMW grew into a manufacturer of premium and luxury automobiles, launching iconic nameplates like the 3 Series, 5 Series, and 7 Series, and is today known as one of the leading luxury automakers in the world, while the BMW M division is hailed as a leading manufacturer of performance cars.
- Founded
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1916
- Founder
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Karl Rapp
- Headquarters
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Munich, Germany
- Owned By
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Publicly Traded
- Current CEO
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Oliver Zipse
Skytop Is A Show Car Turned Road Car
The stunning Skytop is the most exclusive BMW model in years, and it might be the best-looking since the Z8 of the early 2000s. The car was first shown last year as a mix of current and next-generation BMW design language. The show car was met with such a positive reaction that BMW decided to actually build it.
Build it, though, is relative. The German automaker is only going to make 50 copies, and that makes it one of the lowest-production cars the company has ever rolled out. It matches the 2022 3.0 CSL, which also saw 50 copies roll out of the factory in a similar coachbuilding exercise.
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BMW Skytop Concept Officially Revealed With BMW 503 & Z8 Influence
This looks an awful lot like a BMW 8 Series replacement. Tellingly, it’s powered by the 617-hp twin-turbo V8 from the M8 Competition.
The fact that BMW is building such low numbers doesn’t matter to the driver behind the wheel of this test mule on the Nürburgring. That’s immediately apparent by how far the wheels are shoved into the arches and how far the tires are rolling over. There are enough forces working on this car that it looks like the right rear has gone flat.
This Is Shaping Up To Be One Of BMW’s Best
Of course, the air pressure in the Pirellis isn’t why we’re looking at these photos. We’re looking because we can see more of this Bavarian stunner. The ultra-thin taillamps are somehow making the journey to production. The nearly-as-thin headlights, framing one of the best of the modern BMW kidney grille shapes and a shark nose, make this car look stunning from nearly any angle.
The Hofmeister kink, a signature BMW design cue, is in full effect on this car. It’s even the only bit of shiny metal we can see, though that’s almost certainly going to change for production. The top, which will be removable even if we’re not sure how, matches what we can see of the door panel, adding another exquisite effect to this halo car.
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See Inside BMW’s Ultra-Exclusive Skytop Before You’re Supposed To
BMW’s Z8-inspired special edition has been spied on the streets of Munich.
As far as what’s powering this car around the track, we’re still not sure. Since it’s 8 Series-based, it’s likely to be a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8. We can’t imagine BMW selling this with anything smaller. Or, gasp, a diesel. The BMW M8 makes up to 617 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque in Competition form, though in a car like this, something more like Alpina’s 621 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, along with that arm of BMW’s more touring-oriented suspension setup, is likely a better idea.
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