After years of creating exciting concepts that never made it to production—most recently the Touring Coupe—BMW is finally bringing one of these designs to life. The Munich-based automaker announced last month that the Skytop Concept will enter production in 2025. BMW confirmed that only 50 units of the Skytop will be produced, although the car’s price remains undisclosed.
Sources indicate that the Skytop will cost around 500,000 euros, with most buyers expected to be in Europe. As you may recall, the Skytop, like the limited-run 3.0 CSL, is not homologated for the U.S. market. Still, that hasn’t deterred three U.S. buyers, including racing driver Samantha Tan, from bringing it stateside. BMW has yet to confirm the production start date or reveal the builder responsible for manufacturing the Skytop.
8 Series Chassis, M8 Engine
Based on the 8 Series chassis, the Concept Skytop was partially built in Dingolfing, with assistance from an external coachbuilder. The fully red leather interior is sourced from Dingolfing’s saddlery, while other elements appear borrowed from the 8 Series lineup. This all-wheel-drive, open-top two-seater is powered by the S63 4.4-liter V8 engine from the BMW M8. While BMW hasn’t disclosed the power output, it’s likely to match the 617 horsepower of the M8 Competition.
A Dream Come True
Bringing this car to production has been a long-time dream for Adrian Van Hooydonk, BMW Group’s Chief Designer. In past interviews, he expressed his interest in exploring highly limited runs of special models, showcasing his design team’s capabilities when they have greater creative freedom than with mass-produced cars. “I think you know that I’ve been dreaming of this low volume production for BMW forever, Van Hooydonk told us in 2023.
“With so many concept vehicles at Villa d’Este, [we] had that in the back of our mind. And in several cases, we’ve tried and then didn’t get it together. And then by lucky coincidence, few people looked again at this 3.0 CSL Hommage and said, this one, we should really do. Then last year with 50 year anniversary of BMW M seemed like the perfect occasion. And then let’s say the sun the moon, the stars aligned and we found the slot and we did so it was a dream come true.”
Now, the stars have aligned, and the stunning Skytop will find its way into 50 garages next year—and, hopefully, onto some fun curvy roads as well.
