THE PICKUP FOR THE RACETRACK.

Unusual models in Garching.

The pickup for the racetrack.Unusual models in Garching.

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?

Read more

With 192 hp over the factory grounds.

An E-30 convertible offered the perfect basis for the adventurous makeover. The resourceful engineers snapped up parts of the original, but chose the narrow body without wide fenders, more than two litre displacement and a 4-cylinder engine with a throttling of 192 hp. Under the bonnet, they hid the “Italy M3”, named for the luxury tax placed there on vehicles with more than two litre displacement. “Later, we upgraded to the original 2.3 litre, 4-cylinder with 200 hp,” explains Jakob Polschak, head of vehicle design and workshops at BMW M GmbH. And thus, “Resi”, as the white BMW M3 pickup (1986) was to be lovingly called, was born. It must have been a real pleasure to drive this unique vehicle loaded with parts day in and day out over the company grounds. For 26 years, the fast-paced model reliably performed its rounds without ever having seen the road beyond the factory gates.

April Fools.

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. But just like “Resi” will always remain a member of the M3 family.

Read more

Further information about the official fuel consumption and the official specific CO2 emissions for new passenger automobiles can be found in the 'New Passenger Vehicle Fuel Consumption and CO2 Emission Guidelines', which are available free of charge at all sales outlets, from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH (DAT), Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, 73760 Ostfildern, Germany, or under http://www.dat.de/en/offers/publications/guideline-for-fuel-consumption.html. The figures are not based on an individual vehicle and do not constitute part of the product offer; they are provided solely for the purposes of comparison between different vehicle types. CO2 emissions caused by the production and provision of fuel or other energy sources are not taken into account in the determination of CO2 emissions pursuant to Directive 1999/94/EC.

Read more

All vehicles, equipment, combination possibilities and varieties shown here are examples and can differ in your country. In no way do they constitute a binding offer by the BMW M GmbH. Visit your local BMW website or see your authorised BMW M Retailer for accurate details on the offers in your country.

Read more