Dueling Open-Top Concepts from Germany

Germany’s premier luxury carmakers have squared off again, with the release of open-top concept cars from both BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Both the BMW Concept Skytop and the Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed concept are styled to evoke some classics from the brands’ pasts.

In the case of the BMW, the influences are the modern classic Z8 and the ‘50s 503. Mercedes-AMG designers took inspiration from Formula 1, the Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar, the 1955 300 SLR, and the Mercedes 2-liter race car that won the 1925 Targa Florio race in Sicily.

That last car…