BMW Pays Homage to Z8 with Drop Top Concept Car
As the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este rolls around each year, BMW always decides to bring something that is almost too good to be true. From a resurgence of the Z4M coupe to this year's drop-top concept, the styling cues present on the shores of Lake Como seem to suit BMW better.
Built as an open two-seater, BMW's newest Concept Skytop is meant to inspire a desire to travel, harkening back to the open-top driving from when the BMW Z8 was released. BMW says that the Concept Skytop is visually inspired by the BMW Z8 and BMW 503, with winglets in the door shoulders replacing conventional door handles and a pronounced spline running through the hood.
"The BMW Concept Skytop is a truly unique and exotic design, in the tradition of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este," says Adrian van Hooydonk, head of BMW Group Design. "It offers a combination of driving dynamics and elegance at the highest level, comparable to its historic ancestors, like the BMW Z8 or BMW 503."
Beyond the homage-paying design elements, BMW is also marking its modern design language with the Concept Skytop, slimming down the grille and creating a less nostril forward front-end. A big part of that change is the LED headlight units, which BMW says were custom-made for this concept in the name of front-end slimness.
Leather is a significant focus of the Concept Skytop, with reddish brown, brogue-style accented leather seats and a leather-finished sports bar behind these two seats. Beyond the plush nature of these materials, BMW's designer explained that the darker hue of the interior leather is essential to the color palette transition from its muted silver to chrome shadow exterior. In more simple terms, the two color combinations are complementary.
Mechanical details are sparse but BMW says the Concept Skytop will come with a 617-hp 4.4-liter V-8 from the BMW M8 Competition.
The Z8 was one of BMW's great cars, and has been without a successor for years. with the i8 also in the rearview, it's due time for another design-first megacruiser.
You Might Also Like
