April Fools’ Day: The reason why all calendars at BMW should always read April 1st.

Upon car circles nowadays, BMW is giving quite interesting vibes. On one hand they still make some of the best sports cars of the moment, and judging by the recently showcased M5 concept, they will do so for a while.

On the other hand, they’ve gotten into the rather nasty habit of trying to fill every single hole in their lineup. The 5 Series GT and the X6 are just two examples of the wrong side of BMW. However, the most egregious example of all that’s bad about BMW is showcased by the car above, the M3 Pickup.

It’s a fine car by all means. A 420 hp sports pickup with a targa roof and the ability to haul almost 500 kg of stuff? Sign me up. It’s not even the first time they’ve done this with an M3. As Autoblog disclosed recently, they pulled off a similar stunt with an E30 M3 a couple of decades ago.

The problem is, they’ve never considered putting it into production, merely making it a parts car for use around the factory. This is a niche car for a niche that actually exists somewhere else than the mind of the BMW board of directors. The HSV Maloo Ute has made its way to Europe and has no competition whatsoever. Priced accordingly, the M3 Pickup would make for some serious competition, and encourage other manufacturers to follow suit.

Instead, we’re stuck with a 5 Series with an ugly rear end and a purposeless ride height increase.