Born on the racetrack, at home on all the world’s roads – that’s what the BMW M GmbH sports sedans are known for. Here it’s all about dynamics, power and agility – created out of a love for motorsport. The sleek vehicles, developed in Munich-Garching are esteemed for speed and sophisticated design. Yet, on the factory site, some other exciting models are knocking around – ones quite unexpected. For example, a cool, laid-back heavy transporter, M3 based, practical and sporty at once.
Top down first, then heavy loads.
Whoever enters the BMW factory in Garching is astounded: a sporty M3 convertible turned into a load-bearing muscleman. Almost anything could be imaginable with the M3 – but the transformation into a pickup most would find far-fetched. Just imagine: a lightning-fast van, loaded and with the top down, careening around the racetrack. A crazy idea, but which came to life in 1986. The BMW M3 was a fresh arrival on the market and, thanks to its body parts made of feather-light plastic, was as quick as a flash. So the creative tinkerers in the factory thought: “Why not take this speedster to drive equipment from A to B on the factory grounds?” Yet, it’s not so fast and easy to create a robust truck out of a sleek BMW M3 model. It would have to be converted. But how?