Welcome back, Z8? Stunning V8-powered BMW concept paying homage to the brand's past icons is an 8 Series with the top lopped off, and then some!

It’s been some time since BMW revealed a bespoke halo model intended for a limited production run, but this… isn’t that. Yet.

The BMW Skytop concept car is an homage to the likes of the BMW Z8, though the so-far one-off was built to grace the lawns of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Lake Como in Italy.

It’s based on the BMW 8 Series, though its design has been radically altered to create a sleek and elegant targa-top two-seater. Oh, and it's not electric.

Head of BMW Design Adrian van Hooydonk confirmed the Skytop was inspired by the BMW Z8 and its BMW 503 “ancestor”, though no mention of the 507 that the Z8 undoubtedly is closer in spirit to.

“The BMW Concept Skytop is a truly unique and exotic design, in the tradition of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este,” said van Hooydonk.

“It offers a combination of driving dynamics and elegance at the highest level, comparable to its historic ancestors, like the BMW Z8 or BMW 503.”

While “driving dynamics” scores a mention, the brand says only that the Skytop is fitted with “the most powerful V8 engine in the BMW drive train portfolio”.

This should mean it’s running the engine found in the M8 Competition, a 460kW/750Nm twin-turbo 4.4-litre beast that allows a sprint to 100km/h in just 3.2 seconds for the M8 Comp.

That (and some elements like the driver’s dash for example) seem to be where the connections to the 8 Series are strongest, as its bodywork, 12-inch wheels, and the monochrome terracotta/chocolate leather treatment inside are far from what you’d see on an 8.

The good news is that the Skytop concept wasn’t restricted to the display area, and is actually a driveable car.

According to a report from Car and Driver who had a correspondent present to drive the car, there’s a chance the Skytop could become a limited production model, with a run of as many as 50 cars and a price tag of a little over half a million US dollars - around AU$820,000 according to the rumours.

The Skytop harks back to the halo roadster of the late-1990s, the BMW Z8, which was also a V8-powered two-door. The Z8 was, during its run of more than around 5700 cars, a tribute to the much rarer BMW 507 - and to some extent the related 503 - of the late 1950s.