In Lake Como, the new Skytop concept car signals the future of BMW design
BMW’s second concept car is a two-door roadster with nods to its legendary Z8 – and it might actually go into production.
The BMW Skytop concept car. (Photo: BMW)
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On the storied shores of Lake Como in northern Italy, where the likes of George Clooney, Madonna and Donatella Versace famously own holiday homes, stands a villa that has charmed the world’s wealthy for over four centuries.
From the time it was built in the 1600s, Villa d’Este has been the residence of European aristocracy, changing hands through the ages and hosting princesses, marquises, sultans and tsars within its Renaissance-styled walls.
It was Queen Caroline of England who christened the villa with its present-day name and in 1873, the magnificent Baroque building was converted into a 152-room luxury hotel that’s now one of the most celebrated in the world; elegantly furnished with antique furniture, paintings and prints amid the finest silks, precious velvets and luxurious marble bathrooms.
It is here on Lake Como, or “Lago di Como” to Italian natives, where one may observe a remarkable turn of affluence casually on display. And it is here on these beautifully manicured grounds that the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este is held each May, as a festival for classic and vintage cars that culminates in a parade with winners for various categories selected and celebrated.
Since 2009, the almost century-old event has been jointly presented and organised by the BMW Group and Villa d'Este, and it is also here that the former has chosen to introduce to the world its latest concept car, the Skytop.
A NOD TO THE LEGENDARY Z8
And what an intriguing juxtaposition it was, set between the exceedingly charming backdrop of timeless luxury and an imagined future – a rather fitting environment, after all, considering the car itself personifies a blend of both classic and modern sensibilities.
References to BMW’s legendary Z8 abound in this one-of-a-kind concept car, co-opted with restraint, according to Christopher Weil, BMW’s head of exterior design.
“There is a lot of relationship with the Z8 without overdoing it, like designing it literally like the Z8,” said Weil in an interview with CNA Luxury at Villa d’Este.
Fewer than 6,000 units of the BMW Z8 two-door roadster were ever produced between 1998 and 2003, making it a rare and almost mythical model that quickly became a modern classic beloved by enthusiasts.
The Z8 also has its place in pop culture history, appearing in the 1999 edition of the James Bond franchise, The World Is Not Enough, and during the festival, guests had the opportunity to feast on one of these historic Z8s on display.
“We wanted to create something very special and the ideation process began with wanting to do a very elegant sports car with this boat tail shape,” Weil explained.
“As we are always looking into our history, we naturally let ourselves be inspired by the Z8 without taking it too literally; it’s not the same car and it shouldn’t be,” he added.
Design references were therefore carefully selected and calibrated, starting with the shark-nosed front overhang tapering towards a retracted rear. And like the Z8, the Skytop is also an open-top two-seater fitted with a V8 engine – the most powerful in BMW’s portfolio.
The new Skytop’s super sleek and muscular stance, however, immediately renders the Z8’s silhouette vintage.
“We wanted to clean up the surfacing,” said Weil. “Of course, it has muscles; it has some precise crease lines, but it was important for us that the overall shape of the front is powerful but not overly aggressive.”
This, Weil and team have indeed achieved.
Housed in a handsome shade of champagne, its athletic yet graceful profile speaks of a sporty elegance that puts it right at home on the 25-acre estate surrounding Villa d’Este. So much so that one could easily picture the Clooneys zipping about in this handsome, hand-crafted convertible around this dreamy destination, fabulousness flowing in the wind.
SLIMMEST HEADLIGHTS EVER ON A BMW
As far as concept cars go, the Skytop looks like it could roll off the assembly line tomorrow. Certainly not the kind of newfangled contraption requiring some extraterrestrial-level technology, nor some far-fetched concept bordering on the gimmicky.
This is not to say the Skytop is unremarkable, nor without innovation.
For starters, it features impossibly thin LED headlights – the slimmest ever seen on a BMW and surprisingly “street-legal” – that point toward the eye-catching illuminated kidney grille which is, thankfully, just as slim. None of that wide-jawed business found on all of BMW’s new Series 4 onwards that would look ridiculous on a sports car.
Then, there are those ‘winglets’ integrated into the door shoulders in lieu of conventional door handles. Super cool.
Inside, the Brogue-style reddish-brown leather interior conveys a certain “Italian flair”, said Weil, complemented by crystal trimming artfully decorating the gear selector in the cockpit thereby upping the elegance quotient all round.
WILL IT GO INTO PRODUCTION, THOUGH?
Unlike the i Vision Dee unveiled last year, BMW’s ultra futuristic and AI-driven concept car that conjures a digital avatar of yourself that interacts with you, the Skytop has a higher chance of going into production, according to Weil.
“At the moment, nothing has been decided. But if there is enough interest from customers, there is a possibility to build a small series of this car. There’s a real chance we could see this car on the road,” he elaborated.
In the meantime, what the Skytop does signal, is the future of BMW design. “We’ve seen two concept cars already and if you look at them, you see education, you see the direction we are going towards. The future BMW cars will have a lot cleaner design,” he announced.
