You’ve seen the concept and the camouflaged prototype, but where’s the production-ready Skytop? BMW isn’t quite ready to unveil the final version. In the meantime, we’ve learned that those who shelled out big money for the targa-topped beauty will need to be patient a while longer. The first cars are scheduled for delivery at the beginning of 2026.
BMW has yet to confirm the Skytop’s official price tag, although it’s been reported to carry a sticker of €500,000. Latest intel suggests it may have been even more expensive, but there’s no official confirmation. Despite the massive premium over the M8, the coachbuilt car was a commercial success. The Munich-based luxury brand sold all 50 units not long after the concept’s debut. As a refresher, the Skytop premiered last May at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
The Skytop serves as a swan song to the 8 Series, which will begin to wind down later this year. Sources close to BMW have told us that the remaining versions are set to be discontinued in 2026. Mechanically, the two-seater roadster is nearly identical to the donor car, but it wraps that familiar package in a far more stylish body. A modern take on the sharknose design and a perfectly proportioned kidney grille are among our favorite design cues.
While the next-generation X5 will be BMW’s first series production model to integrate door handles into the beltline, the limited-run Skytop will technically beat it to the punch. We hope the concept’s turbine-style wheels make it as well. The removable, leather-wrapped roof is a certainty, as shown by the striking red top seen on the Nürburgring prototype earlier this year.
Other details, like the slim lights, elegant central fin, and reddish-brown interior, are also sticking around. BMW is unlikely to equip the Skytop with its latest iDrive, so those 50 cars will retain the older interface with separate physical controls on the center console. But as with the 3.0 CSL, there’s a strong case to be made for a more timeless interior.
Analog gauges, perhaps in the spirit of the Z8’s center-mounted dials, would have helped the Skytop age gracefully. We certainly would have preferred them over today’s ubiquitous digital clusters. However, chances are that it would’ve required a lot of costly reengineering. Since this is a limited-run product, it was probably not worth the hassle.