Latest news with #Z3MCoupé
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
BMW Speedtop revealed as striking £430,000 shooting brake
Shark-nose front end combines with raked roofline and ducktail rear to create low-slung GT BMW has morphed the M8 Competition into a two-seat shooting brake for a special limited-run concept called Speedtop. Unveiled at the Villa d'Este concours, the wagon has been given a complete design overhaul compared with the car on which it is based, and it is set to be built in a small batch 'for collectors and enthusiasts'. Each example is expected to cost as much as £430,000. The Speedtop is closely related to the Skytop that was unveiled at the same event last year. BMW is positioning the new concept as a modern interpretation of the traditional shooting brake – a format it has revisited several times over the years, with production cars such as the Z3 M Coupé and Z4 Coupé, as well as 2023's Z4-based Touring Coupé concept. 'The BMW Concept Speedtop forms an intentional counterpoint to our current [production] models,' said BMW Group design chief Adrian van Hooydonk. Speaking to Autocar at the unveiling, van Hooydonk said that ultra-low-volume specials play an important role as halo projects: "At BMW, I think we are in the business of creating dream cars and fulfilling those dreams every now and then. We've been doing so many show cars for so many years, also here at Villa D'Este for a few years, we've been able, every once in a while, to make these dreams come true. "We did this with the 3.0 CSL, with Skytop last year. Now with Speedtop, the chances are pretty good that we will do it again." He added that it's important to consider the future of the classic car market: "It's really to continue the tradition of the Concorso, because imagine this event in 50 years from now, what cars will be here on the lawn? It will not be a 3 Series, because we sell rather a lot of them." Production numbers, although not confirmed, are expected to match the Skytop's 50-unit run. Prototypes of that car – which is already sold out – have been spotted testing at the Nürburgring in Germany. BMW has told Autocar that both it and the upcoming Speedtop will be engineered to the same standards as its regular production models. ]]>
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
BMW hints at Z3 M-inspired concept car for Villa d'Este 2025
BMW has released the first images of a new model set to be revealed at the upcoming Villa d'Este Concours, seemingly fusing last year's Skytop concept with the famed 'Clownshoe' Z3 M Coupé. Images posted to social media show the silhouette of a model with the same rear lights as the Skytop, a rakish open-top GT unveiled at last year's Villa d'Este Concours, but a reworked tail section. Rather than a long deck housing a convertible roof panel, it appears to be a shooting brake with a rakish glasshouse and a prominent ducktail-style roof spoiler. Its form appears to reference the Z3 M as well as the Z4-based Touring Coupé concept that BMW revealed at Villa d'Este in 2023. The Touring Coupé never made it to production but the Skytop, on the other hand, is being readied for a limited run of 50 road-going cars. Testing of these cars – based on the CLAR platform that underpins every BMW from the 3 Series upwards and packing a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 – recently ramped up ahead of this year's Villa d'Este Concours, which opens on 23 May. Discussing the impact of Villa d'Este, BMW M chief Frank van Meel last year told Autocar: 'It is a little bit like a test balloon: you show the cars and, if there's enough demand, it can be built. 'I think the demand is quite high, so [the] probability is quite high. We will see over the next few weeks if that interest translates into purchasing orders. 'The probability is there. It shows [that] we always want to try new things and see if there is a demand. Even though we're a big company, it's not the main purpose to build a small series. 'But if you listen to your customers and they say every now and then to do something like this and we do it, I think it's a nice gesture, to show that we aren't only into, let's say, the cars we build everyday, but we can also do something special if demand is there.' BMW design director Adrian van Hooydonk added that 'there's no need to turn [the Skytop] into a big series production car' and that it is 'maybe an instant classic'. ]]>
