Updated with confirmation (via
Autoblog) that the M3 pickup is BMW's 2011 April Fool's Joke (last year featured their
Political Roundel Attachment Tag gag. According to Autoblog:
Quote:
|
In a chat with BMW's Munich head of product communications, Dirk Arnold, he offered up this quote: "Ah, yes, everyone's been talking about that pickup. But, no, this is... how you call it, an April Fool's Joke" [in German "Aprilscherz" - ed.]. There will be no M3 pickup in our futures, kids. But then Arnold sort of overcommunicated to us by dangling one of those "...in this generation" qualifiers. He then also managed to immediately clarify, "It is hugely doubtful that BMW will ever during our lives produce such a vehicle, in any segment." Oh, pooh.
|
Original Post:
Anyone in need of a 414hp lawn equipment toting track-ready car?
Here's an M3 spy sighting out of left field. Normally we'd dismiss this outright as simply a joke on spy photographers and us enthusiasts who pour over spy photos, but this prototype is actually registered as a BMW manufacturer vehicle.
We do not yet have info on what this car may be and speculate that it could be anything from a playful BMW joke (almost definitely) to somehow actually (and unbelievably) being a production for some type of utility M3 model. In any case, it's a funny thing to look at, so we share our laughs with you. Looks like the drivers inside may be in the joke as well
UPDATE: According to R&T:
Quote:
A BMW spokesperson has confirmed to Road & Track that the M3 Pickup recently spotted testing at the Nürburgring is not headed for production. “BMW M did indeed create the pick-up seen on the ’Ring, but it was just an internal project, not something that is in development,” explained Dave Buchko, BMW Advanced Powertrain & Heritage Communications Manager. “There are no plans to produce it.”
The strange-looking prototype likely struck fear into the hearts of BMW fans everywhere. Powered by a high-revving V-8 engine, the M3 can be ordered as a coupe, convertible or sedan. But the idea of a pickup bed slapped onto the back of BMW’s iconic M car seemed a serious stretch, both in terms of serial production and sanity.
So if you were dreaming about someday owning an M3 Pickup (or if the thought gave you nightmares), you can now officially forget about the car/truck arriving in a BMW showroom.
|
