In case you can’t get sufficient of the Speedtop, you’re in the fitting place. This weekend, BMW is parading its new capturing brake on the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Though formally billed as an idea, the manufacturing model will look nearly an identical. A brand new set of unique photographs taken on the shores of Lake Como reveals what we’d as properly name a two-door M8 Touring with utterly bespoke bodywork.
The German luxurious automaker is taking a web page from Rolls-Royce’s coachbuilding ebook. After final yr’s targa-topped Skytopthe follow-up capturing brake can be a two-seater however with much more room within the again. Pictures don’t do the automotive justice; you need to see it within the steel to completely recognize its magnificence. Sadly, few will ever get the possibility to admire one up shut. BMW is making solely 70 vehicles, and logic tells us most received’t depart their climate-controlled garages.
BMW tailor-made the Speedtop to “collectors and connoisseurs,” which not directly tells us that it’s über-expensive. An official price ticket hasn’t been disclosed, however just like the Skytop, we hear the wagon prices round €500,000. Is it well worth the large premium over an M8? That’s debatable, however we’re positive it received’t take lengthy earlier than the whole manufacturing run is spoken for. In spite of everything, BMW discovered patrons for all of the Skytops, although that mannequin had a shorter run of simply 50 items.
Each particular initiatives are M8s beneath the pores and skin, so it’s no shock the vehicles function the older iDrive system. We do recognize the separate bodily controls, as a substitute of cramming all the things right into a touchscreen. Whereas the outside has an actual shot at turning into a timeless design, the cabin will inevitably age because of the dual-screen setup. That’s how the cookie crumbles with fashionable expertise.
Among the ultra-rich most likely would’ve wished extra selection at this exorbitant worth. We will solely think about how way more fascinating the Speedtop would have been with analog dials and no pill jutting out of the dashboard. A handbook gearbox is equally a pipe dream, although rich purists would’ve flocked to the automotive had it include a stick. Regardless of its imperfections, it’s a testomony that BMW can nonetheless design a drop-dead attractive automotive, even when just a few can afford one.
There’s extra to come back by way of particular initiatives. Talking at Villa d’Este, BMW Group Head of Design Adrian van Hooydonk hinted on the prospects of additional low-volume vehicles.
