BMW debuts Skytop concept car

MANILA: Luxury German carmaker BMW introduces the Skytop concept car at the 2024 Concorso D’Eleganza Villa d’Este. 

For those unfamiliar with the aforementioned car show, it usually hosts mint examples of classic cars and motorcycles with Lake Como in Northern Italy as the backdrop. But for the show's 2024 edition, BMW made a huge splash by showing off the striking-looking Skytop concept as a glimpse into the future of two-seater open-top sports cars. 

At a glance, the BMW Skytop boasts a mixture of muscular details, clean slick planes, and futuristic shapes. 

Up front, it boasts the brand’s signature kidney grille that’s markedly slimmer and slicker especially when compared to the large ones found on the current-gen BMW 4-series. This is flanked by thin LED headlamp clusters and is topped off by an angularly sculpted sweeping bonnet. 

The side and rear of the Skytop concept, on the other hand, highlight the brand’s revolutionary design directions for this segment of sports cars. The concept car’s doors, for instance, do away with traditional door handles and instead use discreet ones hidden by stylish winglets.

Further visual impact for the Skytop comes courtesy of an elegant set of alloy wheels, leather-finished removable roof parts, curvy rear fenders, and its forward slanting roll-over bar which are seamlessly linked to the concept’s B-pillars. 

From a top-down view, the vehicle gets references to the classic BMW Z8 roadster, the ancestor of the modern-day BMW Z4. Particularly the Skytop gives a nod to the older Z8 roadster via its pronounced spline and an aluminum trim on the tailgate. 

The Skytop concept’s interior likewise gets plenty of eye-candy thanks to its reddish-brown leather upholstery and a very fancy shifter with crystal inserts. The cockpit of the concept also appears that the concept doesn’t have a shortage in tech thanks to a fully digital gauge cluster and a sizable touchscreen infotainment system. 

For now, the brand is yet to disclose anything concrete about the Skytop concept's powertrain. BMW however, did point out that like the old Z8, the Skytop will be getting a peppy V8 mill. Specifically, "the most powerful V8 in the BMW drive train portfolio." 

Photos from BMW

Also read: 

BMW Group sells 83,000 EVs globally in Q1 2024

BMW PH launches new 5 Series sedan

BMW showcases the future of in-car infotainment at CES 2024