BMW Blog spent time with BMW Group design director Adrian van Hooydonk, the man who oversees the 700 or so creatives drawing the group’s BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce vehicles, BMW motorcycles, and industrial design products. The topic was the Concept Skytop, recently unveiled at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este as a long, unfussed droptop that looks like the brief might have been to dress up an M8 Convertible for a Roaring Twenties-themed gala at Gatsby’s mansion. Almost all of the Munich outfit’s Concorso specialties are intended only to sit beside Lake Como then return to the mothership’s studio or museum. A recent exception includes the M4 CSL that debuted in Italy in 2022, a recent near-exception is the Z4 Concept Touring Coupe unveiled last year with production intent that fell through. Naturally, the question a lot of car lovers wanted answered was, what are the chances of seeing a Concept Skytop on the retail rolls?
Hooydonk’s answer was, basically, it’s not impossible. The design team created the vehicle with the chance of production in mind, such as incorporating street-legal headlights and taillights, and included lessons learned from the 50-unit run of the 2023 3.0 CSL that was also introduced in Italy in 2022. A potential business case for the Skytop imagines a similar 50-unit run, each roadster priced at about $500,000, which is $250,000 less than the 2023 3.0 CSL. Emphasis on that “potential,” though. Hooydonk says, “from a technical point of view, yes, it’s very very feasible,” while cautioning, “we’ll have to see if it all adds up.” If company honchos and accountants decide it does add up, the car could be delivered within a year.
Head to BMW Blog for the full read, Hooydonk explaining why Villa d’Este is important to the brand, the difference between BMW’s concept cars and its Vision cars, why BMW doesn’t get into the supercar game, and (again) backing up the decision on big grilles with, “BMW has always been this brave.”
