“Skytop could be ready within a year, with just 50 units”

The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is a regular stage for exciting and challenging BMW concept cars, and this year is no different. For 2024, we are treated to an exciting roadster concept: the BMW Concept Skytop. Although unrelated, it’s an interesting follow-up to last year’s Z4 Concept Touring Coupe – which almost went into production. We had the chance to chat a little with the man behind the Skytop’s inspiring design. Who else but Adrian van Hooydonk? We got a look at the Skytop’s potential pricing, the differences between the Concept and Vision cars, and much more.

Concept cars arriving in production

“Most of the time there is no production intention,” says Adrian. The concept cars designed for Villa d’Este are strictly that: concepts, with little or no chance of seeing production. The 3.0 CSL was a marked exception. “Somehow the stars aligned; The BMW M was fifty years old, I managed to talk nicely to a few people, and then suddenly it was everyone’s idea to do this car,” says Adrian.

The short production run of 50 units taught BMW important lessons. Regarding Skytop, “we’re not sure we’ll make it. But we could do it, because this time we incorporated all the lessons learned into the design phase. » He particularly highlights that the design includes road legal headlights and taillights.

So the Skytop is more production-ready than most other concept cars. But there are still obstacles. Adrian talks about a certain Zagato-aligned coupe that was planned for production. After looking at the costs of equipping the production lines and determining how many units BMW needed to sell – several thousand ultimately – it just didn’t happen. “It became a bit of a tense discussion, and we didn’t want it to go that way. So we decided not to follow this path. And that’s how normal automotive projects go,” he says. Hypothetically, the price would be around half a million and delivery could happen – get this – within a year.

Hard to sell

So, is the Skytop intended for production? Hard to say. Adrian has found clients who “really want one,” but “we’ll have to see if it all adds up.” He emphasizes that “from a technical point of view, yes, it is entirely feasible”. A brief stroll around Villa d’Este and you will discover some of the most timeless, exclusive and sought-after vehicles in history. But Adrian has valuable insight: “You will rarely find something here that sold in large numbers and made this company a lot of money. » He draws parallels with the Z8 – an equally special vehicle with an M drivetrain and a “sleek body” (as he puts it).

Even though the Z8 – today – is almost considered a beloved asset, the last few years of its production were not easy. The cars sat in showrooms for months. Apparently the M1 was just as hard to sell – commanding huge premiums at first, but difficult to move as it got older. This is more or less true for all sports cars. This is partly why the volume of the 3.0 CSL was strictly limited. “I think in the end we could have sold more, but you should never find yourself in this situation,” says Adrian. If the Skytop sees the light of day, expect a production cycle closer to that of the CSL than the Z8. In fact, Adrian is very clear on the fact: “No, I would say we should do fifty. »

Why concept cars are important

“I believe that for our customers, we must always have things that they can dream of. And of course, sometimes you also have to make those dreams come true,” says Adrian. There’s also value in the design phase, which allows designers to really stretch out and come up with things they might not otherwise see fully fleshed out. It’s a win-win.

When asked why BMW chooses to focus more on exclusive design than logic-defying performance (i.e. a hypercar or a supercar), Adrian is blunt. “We can’t do it,” he said before backing away. “It’s not that we can’t address this topic. But it seems to be a space that everyone enters from time to time and tries to outdo each other and so on. With the rise of electrification and competition from cars like the Rimac Nevera, Adrian says it’s unclear which powertrain is the best choice for something of this caliber.

Concept or vision?

“We differentiate between concept cars and Vision cars,” Adrian begins when asked how relatively production-ready the Skytop seems. With Vision cars, “we want to sketch a subject, let’s say. And there, we take a lot of liberties with the technology and we don’t worry about the crash. We don’t worry about aerodynamics,” he says. Concept cars, on the other hand, take these factors into account and, most of the time, actually run and/or drive. The i8 Concept, for example, even went through the wind tunnel.

The design process

Remember, at the end of the day, Adrian van Hooydonk is a designer. “The design is a shape we’ve never seen before… you want to give the design team complete freedom, ideally, to think outside the box.” Adrian recognizes that some points – generally related to aviation safety and collisions – are immovable. But it is important to be able to bypass them. “I tend to release them with a fairly broad brief, then I see what they come up with after several weeks. I don’t want them to read my mind or guess what I’m thinking. I think it would also be a mistake for the company, because I have a team of 700 people around the world and I want access to their creativity. It’s really powerful.

Good design is not easy. “My job is more or less that of artistic director,” Adrian explains. “The more experience you have, the more you know its limits.” For this reason, he says many designers tend to gravitate toward design management. But having and knowing the limits means it’s even more important to keep an open mind in the early stages of design. “I don’t want people to start talking to me about limitations…luckily most designers…don’t like to accept them.”

Big grids count – it’s a tradition, apparently

(No?) Surprisingly, even years after the grille redesign, Adrian still defends the decision to move away from “traditional” grilles. “As soon as we show something new, people will debate: ‘Okay, is this better than what I have?’ or, “how does it all fit together?” “” He says that if you look back, “BMW has always been so brave, not just now. The fact is that change is constant. This led to cars like the 507 that somehow didn’t fit with the rest of the program at the time.

Adrian also continues to strongly defend the design of the Neue Klasse. “Overall, we are looking for a cleaner form language. Fewer lines, clean lines. And you see it on Neue Klasse and on this concept that we showed last night. Our quote of the day? “In the 90s or early 2000s, all the car manufacturers were producing many lines.” Not these lines, stupid. “A lot of dynamic lines, angry faces and all that. Now it’s getting a little quieter and cleaner.

(Top image: BMW AG, for press and social media, Gudrun Muschalla)