A Few Highlights at a Glance:
- Built on the 625hp M8 Competition, featuring BMW’s most powerful V8.
- Striking shooting brake design with illuminated kidney grille and frameless doors.
- Luxurious 2-seat interior with crystal accents and custom-fitted luggage.
- Limited to just 70 units globally, each priced around ₹4.96 crore.
What is a Shooting Brake?
Before exploring the Speedtop’s details, it’s important to understand what a shooting brake is. Historically, shooting brakes were British estate cars designed to carry hunting gear and passengers comfortably across rough terrain—combining the practicality of an estate with the sporty aesthetics of a coupe. Today, the term denotes a stylish two-door car that blends sporty performance with enhanced cargo space, offering an elegant alternative to traditional sedans or SUVs.
In essence, a shooting brake mixes the sleek roofline and dynamic stance of a coupe with the versatility and luggage capacity of a wagon—making it a niche but highly coveted automotive style.
Design: A Statement in Motion
At first glance, the Concept Speedtop feels like it’s in motion even while standing still. Drawing cues from last year’s Skytop Roadster, the Speedtop wears its long, arrow-shaped bonnet and shark-nose front grille like a badge of honour. But it adds its own flair with a bold central spine that runs from the hood all the way to the rear spoiler—like a spine holding the design together.
The LED headlamps are razor-thin, the air vents are vertically stacked for drama, and the frameless doors—complete with tiny winglets in place of traditional handles—whisper sophistication. Even the 14-spoke dual-tone wheels have a bespoke flair, hinting that every inch of this car has been obsessively crafted.
From the side, the sloping roofline and raked rear glass emphasize its touring nature, while the back sports slim, unconnected tail-lamps and dual exhaust tips, both tucked neatly into a clean, flowing rear design.
Cabin: Two Seats, Infinite Luxury
Slide into the Speedtop’s cabin and you’re met with an interior that feels more like a boutique lounge than a car. It’s strictly a two-seater, but what it lacks in capacity, it makes up for in opulence. Rich brown and white leather upholstery covers nearly every surface, stitched to perfection.
The gear selector is a work of art itself, fashioned from crystal, with matching accents on the steering wheel and bucket seat headrests. The dashboard hosts M8-like digital screens that combine sharp visuals with intuitive touch functionality, blending technology seamlessly with style.
One of the most fascinating touches is a beam of light embedded in the roofliner, mirroring the exterior’s roof spine. Behind the seats, there’s storage space trimmed in leather, and BMW even includes custom-fitted luggage to match the interior. The boot? Also leather-wrapped, and subtly lit with a wraparound LED strip. It’s this attention to detail that elevates the Speedtop from exclusive to extraordinary.
Under the Hood: Performance with a Roar
BMW has kept most of the performance details under wraps, but they’ve confirmed that the Concept Speedtop is powered by the brand’s most powerful V8 engine to date. That almost certainly points to the 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 from the M8 Competition, pushing out a brutal 625 horsepower.
While performance specs haven’t been revealed, if it stays true to its M8 roots, you can expect 0–100 km/h in just over 3 seconds, backed by an xDrive all-wheel-drive system, adaptive dampers, and an exhaust note that could wake the Alps.
A Rare Breed: Exclusivity at Its Core
Only 70 units of the BMW Concept Speedtop will ever be built, each priced at a staggering £430,000 (about ₹4.96 crore). This isn’t just a car—it’s a future collectible, a conversation piece, a rolling showcase of what BMW is capable of when freed from market constraints.
Sadly, BMW has no plans to launch the Speedtop in India. However, collectors with the right connections and deep pockets might find a way to bring one home through private imports or special order programs.
Final Thoughts: When Art Meets Engineering
The BMW Concept Speedtop isn’t trying to appeal to the masses—and that’s exactly its charm. It’s unashamedly bold, elegantly rebellious, and meticulously built for those who want something no one else has. It doesn’t try to be practical. It’s emotional. It’s indulgent. And it’s drop-dead gorgeous.
In an age where car design often plays it safe, BMW has chosen to create a love letter to its own legacy—with a shooting brake that makes hearts race and heads turn.