Was it real? BMW actually released this S65 V8 powered pick up truck to the public back in 2011 with a huge marketing plan behind it for the brand. We can now confirm that it's actually a car that BMW made, not something that was just chopped up in somebodies garage and taken out in public for car spotters to see. But what happened? Why didn't it go into production?
If the pick up truck actually launched to the public and made it to the USA, would you get one? Here's the full story on the E92 M3 Pick-up... or E93 M3 Pick-up... or.... E94 M3 Pick-up? Who knows, all we know is that it's awesome and we need one. PS, If you want to save money on over 250,000 BMW M3 parts, click here to see our M3 parts list
It’s a fully operational vehicle – in fact, Top Gear took the car out for a spin (not literally, but it was close) back in 2013, wrenching it up to 150mph on the autobahn, but not before a stern warning from the engineers to take it easy. Apparently removing all the weight from the back end of a rear-wheel-drive car isn’t particularly helpful in traction-limited situations. Or even traction-plentiful situations.
BMW says that the M3 Pickup could manage 450kg on its rear axle, which for reference is the equivalent of 450 one kilo weights. You know, like you used to use in school. Alternatively, there’s space for 20 golf bags if you’re into sport – this is M division’s most practical ever vehicle, and the first to emerge from its sporting depths with a towbar as standard. The pickup bed is covered in high-grade aluminium sheeting, for maximum practicality and peace of mind.
BMW couldn’t help but just have a little bit more fun and praised the speedy transporter on April 1 in a press release as the “fourth body type”. “Suddenly, the idea arose to sell the vehicle – as a joke,” remembers Jakob Polschak. And the fans? They fell for the Bavarian’s April gag and many would have liked to buy an extravagant transporter for themselves. But this pickup (2011) will remain a prototype. Basically this was just a huge April Fools joke that BMW did directly as a marketing campaign.
It was put together by a wacky team of engineers at BMW M GmbH development centre near the Nürburgring, where every car has to be driven before going into production in order to get its official ‘goes round corners’ certification from the government. Chuckling the whole time, those M-badged funsters then proceeded to hollow out the back of an M3 saloon like a Halloween pumpkin, carving out space for a pickup bed.
April 1st, 2011 was the day when BMW decided to pull the prank of the century when they announced that the world should be welcoming a pick-up version of the M3. They actually released a press release for this car which I've included below. I love how even without as much social media as we have now that this made such a big impact on the forums, Facebook and other platforms during the year of 2011. I can't imagine how the car feels with almost no weight over the backend going around a fast corner.
"BMW M GmbH develops the world’s fastest pickup. Drive and suspension technology from the BMW M3 – comprehensive testing completed on the Nrburgring-Nordschleife – 420 hp and 450 kg load capacity – world premiere on 1 April 2011."
01.04.2011 Press Release from BMW
Munich. Following the BMW M3 Coupé, BMW M3 Convertible and
BMW M3 Sedan, a fourth body variant of this globally successful high-performance sports car is about to cause a stir. Under the strictest secrecy, the world’s first high-performance pickup has been created at the BMW M GmbH development centre.
The sportiest example by far in this vehicle category, the BMW M3 Pickup will fire the imaginations of all motorists with a deep appreciation of top performance matched by a keen practical bent. 309 kW/420 hp under the bonnet and a rear-axle load capacity of up to 450 kilos take the hallmark BMW M relationship between race-oriented driving pleasure and everyday utility to an entirely new level. This unique vehicle has already completed extensive test and set-up drives on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife in advance of its global unveiling on 1 April 2011.
With this vehicle, BMW M GmbH once again furnishes evidence of its exceptional competence in developing and building high-grade, individual dream cars. With a high-revving V8 engine at the front, a generously sized load area behind and a removable Targa roof above, driver and passengers in the BMW M3 Pickup will relish an unprecedented take on the familiar M feeling. Yet this spectacular new development is unmistakably recognisable as a member of the BMW M3 model family.
Corroborating this kinship are not just the inimitable power of the engine, but also fine-tuned aerodynamics and a tailored suspension set-up. Measurements in the wind tunnel at the BMW Group’s Aerodynamic Test Centre showed a Cd factor on a par with that of the BMW M3 Coupé. Like every BMW M model, the BMW M3 Pickup has also demonstrated its dynamic potential on the North Loop of the Nürburgring. Official lap times have not yet been released, but the needle in the dial vouched for a top speed of 300 km/h.
The kerb weight of the world’s fastest pickup undercuts that of the BMW M3 Convertible by around 50 kilograms. Removing the Targa roof shaves off a further 20 kg while at the same time lowering the car’s centre of gravity. This most unusual experience of top-down driving pleasure in a BMW M3 thus goes hand in hand with further optimised dynamic handling.
The practical features of the BMW M3 Pickup are no less impressive. Maximum load capacity has been raised to 450 kilograms. The load bed of the
BMW M3 Pickup is clad in high-grade structured aluminium sheeting and provides the biggest cargo capacity ever offered on a BMW M vehicle.
In terms of the unit of measurement generally applied to premium automobiles, that gives the loading area of the BMW M3 Pickup the capacity to carry up to 20 standard 46-inch golf bags. What’s more, the BMW M3 Pickup is the first BMW M3 variant in the 25-year-plus history of this model range to come with a trailer tow hitch.
Notwithstanding these unquestionable stand-out qualities, the BMW M3 Pickup will not be heading for the golf course or series development, but will retain its status as an exclusive one-off. It is earmarked for use as a workshop transport vehicle for BMW M GmbH. With this in mind, the current BMW M3 Pickup – unlike a similar predecessor built back in the 1980s – has gone through the requisite procedures to earn its road certification. Which makes it officially a truck – but one that puts a whole new spin on the meaning of the word.
The E92 M3 Pick-up almost reminds me of a Holden or something you'd see in Australia with a truck bed, like an El Camino. The car is actually going to remain a transport vehicle for one of the motorcycle racing teams based at the 'Ring, used to haul parts around in style. It never leaves the compound.
So that's the E92 M3 Pi.... Wait, there's more? Yep. Crazy enough, there has been an attempt at somebody actually making this at home in South Africa and here's what they did.
Someone clearly liked the E92 M3 Pick Up from BMW built as an April Fool’s joke, and decided to build his own, with the kind help of Mad Dog Racing in South Africa.
Under the bonnet of this unique car lies the known four-liter V8 engine, only in this case there is also a supercharger sitting on top of it to make things even more interesting. The builder claims that this is the world’s only supercharged M3 pickup truck in the world and we have no reason to doubt that.
Mad Dog Racing also claims that the finished car is rigid enough to be used as a proper pickup truck, without giving us more details. Certainly chopping the roof off a two-door coupe will always make things a bit flexy-er but that thick B-Pillar should help things remain under control.
Overall the car looks like it’s been created with very high standards, from the bed liner that looks like it’s been there from the factory, to the sliding rear window of the cabin. The only thing that kind of gives away that this is a conversion and not a factory model is the rear tailgate which still opens upward like the one on the regular models.
It's one thing to have BMW make a car in-house, but when an enthusiast sees it and says "you know what, I want that". There's something about that to admire between taking a saw to a BMW M3 and chopping it up to make room for a truck bed. Hey, I'd do it to be honest. I love it.
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-Spencer Berke @M3List
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