BMW Speedtop revealed as striking £430,000 shooting brake

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.