The BMW Concept Speedtop is one pretty piece of metal, and it’s unlike anything else BMW’s tried before. From its perfect proportions to unique interior details, there’s no doubt this is one special BMW. Its limited production run of just 70 units makes it all that more desirable, too. BMW doesn’t do this thing all the time. So, how did the BMW Speedtop make it past the cutting room floor? BMW’s Head of Design, Adrian van Hooydonk, sheds some light.
The Politics and Selling the Board
There are a lot of moving pieces when it comes to getting a limited-production model green-lit. But Adrian has been around the block a few times, apparently. The Speedtop was a product, first, of the design department, according to him. From there, it becomes a matter of convincing the right people. He gave us some insight in some remarks to press at Villa d’Este. “You need involve certain departments from the big company in order to make sure that the car drives like a BMW…other departments, you have to not get involved, because then it just gets slow and complicated.” But it wasn’t all Adrian’s doing — he had plenty of help inside and outside the organization.
“Top management loves cars. They love design,” Hooydonk says. He claims the higher-ups could tell that the Speedtop was a special occasion car. Undertaking a limited-production model, he says, benefits the whole organization. “[It] helps our organization also not to become complacent, not to become overly automatic, automated, like a machine.” And it all comes back to the customers — after all, that’s who the car is really for. The customers — many of which didn’t even ask about price before saying they wanted a Speedtop — are another important component. “You talk to the customers directly, and they’re very demanding customers,” Adrian starts. “So if you’re able to cater to them, you will do a good job also in big production.” And, ultimately, it seems these reasons were enough to push the Speedtop into a limited production run.
Design Background and Skytop/Speedtop Design
Speedtop is invariably traced back to Skytop. Skytop took 15 months from concept to production, despite drawing upon a mostly borrowed architecture from the current/outgoing BMW M8. And, lest you compare the (admittedly similar) Concept Touring Coupe to the Speedtop and think there’s any sort of commonality, don’t. The Z4-based Touring Concept was fleshed out by the Turin, Italy-based company that helped complete BMW’s Garmisch concept car recreation.
The Speedtop (and Skytop), however, eschew a true coach-built design. They’ll be produced right in Plant Dingolfing. The Skytop product manager, Tobias Mühlbauer, claims that BMW will manufacture everything from the headlights to the upholstery right in-house. A team reserved for these sorts of jobs — limited edition and exclusive models — is tasked with manufacturing these bespoke touches.
It’s a mix of luck, timing, and raw talent that got the Speedtop into production. And if you’re one of the lucky 70 people that will manage to snag one, you can thank a small, but dedicated, team at BMW.
