The BMW Concept Speedtop Is an M8 Clownshoe for the Uber Rich
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BMW is back with another fancy shoe at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on Lake Como. In 2023, BMW brought the Concept Touring Coupé, essentially a Z4 Shooting Brake, to Italy's most famous lake, only to disappoint fans by not putting it into production. This time, however, BMW has committed to building and indeed selling the Concept Speedtop—unfortunately, only the uber-rich outside of America can buy it.
The Speedtop shares much of its look with the pretty convertible Skytop concept from last year's Villa d'Este. Except, instead of being a targa-like convertible, the Speedtop is a three-door wagon—BMW's press release literally describes it as a 'three-door interpretation of a BMW Touring.' Up front, there's a very shark-ish nose with slim headlights and a light-up kidney grille. Out back, BMW seemingly just grafted the rear end of the Z4 Shooting Brake onto it, paired with the Skytop's skinny taillights and big exhausts, stitching both of its most recent Lake Como entries together. Under the hood sits 'the most powerful V8 engine currently offered by BMW.' BMW
BMW is hoping that its wealthiest clientele have all forgotten the 8 Series before they look inside. As nice as it is, the Speedtop's cabin is just an 8er cabin (it's running last-gen iDrive and everything) wrapped in nicer leather, with some pretty broguing. The steering wheel, center console, gauges, infotainment, and even the shifter are all the same. OK, so the back seat is different, I'll give it that. Behind the slightly modified M8 seats, there are some snazzy cubbies with straps to hold your bespoke Schedoni luggage in place. The two-tone interior color is a combination of Sundown Maroon, a variation of the exterior's Floating Sundown Maroon paint, and Moonstone White.
I dig the trunk, though. When you pop the rear hatch, it looks like a very shallow, but very luxurious luggage compartment with three longitudinal leather straps and some wraparound LED lighting. It's very posh. But that strap-laden floor actually rises, via two gas struts, to reveal a much deeper luggage compartment that passes through into the cabin. So you can keep your skis and ski boots in the bottom, and keep what you don't want to get snowy or dirty on top. That's pretty cool. BMW
There's only been three, but among the shoe-shaped cars BMW has brought to Lake Como in recent years, the Speedtop is my favorite.
Unfortunately, it will be extremely limited. BMW is only making 70 of these—it made just 50 of last year's Skytops—and BMW comms specifically points out that 'this vehicle will not be offered for sale in the United States.' No pricing has been revealed, but the Skytop reportedly cost $500,000 to start, or about as much as a Rolls-Royce Phantom. Is this BMW shooting brake with an 8 Series interior, powerful V8, and a cool trunk worth Rolls-Royce money? I'm not so sure, but I won't be surprised if it sells out in minutes. Being special ain't cheap.
BMW
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Nico DeMattia is a staff writer at The Drive. He started writing about cars on his own blog to express his opinions when no one else would publish them back in 2015, and eventually turned it into a full-time career.
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