The second $500,000 BMW in as a few years made its grand debut final month on the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Following within the footsteps of the beautiful Skytop, the brand new BMW Idea Speedtop continues BMW’s foray into ultra-exclusive, hand-crafted vehicles. Whereas the Skytop might be delivered to simply 50 prospects worldwide, the Speedtop provides one other 70 to the membership—making the automobile nonetheless fairly unique.
Now for those who’re among the many fortunate few, the wait gained’t be quick. In accordance with our sources, BMW plans to fabricate and ship the Speedtop by late 2026. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless unclear whether or not all items have already been spoken for. Very like with the Skytop, the choice course of is extremely curated and something however standard.
VIPs and long-time BMW collectors got precedence when it got here to Skytop allocations, and we count on an identical strategy for the Speedtop. BMW employs a devoted gross sales crew to deal with these high-end initiatives, so discovering 70 events shouldn’t pose a lot of a problem.
Not Formally Coming To The U.S.
When you dwell in america, although, be ready to pay a premium—and never simply due to the value tag. The Speedtop gained’t be homologated for U.S. roads, which means it gained’t be licensed for normal registration. Why? In accordance with insiders, the price of certifying such a low-volume mannequin within the U.S. is prohibitive. U.S. regulators usually require 10 to 12 further automobiles for crash testing, and for a restricted run of simply 70 items, that might considerably reduce into the mission’s already slim profitability. European rules, in contrast, are extra lenient for ultra-low-volume manufacturing.
Now, some critics may scoff and recommend these fashions are “simply rebodied 8 Sequence or M8s.” However that’s an oversimplification. Particular initiatives just like the Skytop and Speedtop are technically and logistically difficult for a corporation like BMW, whose factories are optimized for high-volume manufacturing—not coachbuilt one-offs. Slightly than outsourcing the job to third-party builders (as they did with the Concept Touring Coupe), BMW is producing each the Skytop and Speedtop in-house at Plant Dingolfing, with an emphasis on guide craftsmanship. Even the leather-based is sourced from the in-house saddlery division, underscoring simply how bespoke these builds actually are.
There’s a bit of fine information for American fans, although. Very like the ultra-rare BMW 3.0 CSL, which quietly made its method into just a few U.S. garages, the Speedtop may nonetheless discover just a few properties stateside—albeit probably underneath show-and-display guidelines or via inventive import options. Some collectors have already submitted their requests, so don’t be too shocked for those who spot considered one of these unicorns out within the wild sometime.
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