BMW Gearing Up to Reveal Shooting Brake Based on the Skytop Concept
Based on Instagram posts made by BMW and the automaker's head designer, the new car looks to be based on last year's Skytop concept.
Following the reception of the Skytop at last year's Villa d'Este, BMW confirmed a limited-production run of 50 Skytops, which could lead to more of the same for this model.
Each year, Italy's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este is a gathering of some of the most famous and costly vehicles around the world—and of course, the people with the ultra-deep pockets to buy them. Naturally, it's the perfect place for a luxury automaker to launch a costly concept car. That's exactly what BMW did a year ago with the Skytop concept. Now, the brand appears poised to do the same once again with a shooting brake version.
BMW teased the new model with a post on its Instagram account, describing the car as "dynamic, elegant, exotic." It shows two pictures of the same swooping bodywork and minimalistic taillight design as the Skytop, now in shooting brake form.
And if the Skytop is anything to go by, the new model could be headed for production. BMW has plans to build 50 examples of the Skytop convertible. It's largely based on the M8 Competition, and it sources some 617 horsepower from a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 under the hood.
Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW's head of design and the man in charge of the Skytop's look, also posted a preview of the shooting brake to Instagram. While Hooydonk's post is too blurry to gather any intricate details, it does show off the low-slung silhouette of the new car.
BMW
With the 2025 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este coming up this weekend, it's entirely plausible that BMW expects to sell a further 50 Skytop models to the wealthy clientele descending on Como, Italy. Either way, we expect to see many more revealing photos of the shooting brake by the end of the weekend.
Jack Fitzgerald
Associate News Editor
Jack Fitzgerald's love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn't afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. Read full bio
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