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G80 BMW M3 Pickup Truck Gives Off Holden Ute Vibes

Australia is (or used to be) the last bastion of the single-cab, rear-wheel-drive unibody pickup, which is better known as the ute. Holden was the last automaker to produce such a vehicle in 2017 when the GM-owned brand closed its manufacturing operations after 69 years of continuous production in the Land Down Under.
G80 BMW M3 Pickup Truck rendering by Theottle 12 photos
Photo: Theottle on YouTube
G80 BMW M3 Pickup Truck rendering by TheottleG80 BMW M3 Pickup Truck rendering by TheottleBMW M3 Competition M Performance PartsBMW M3 Competition M Performance PartsBMW M4 Competition M Performance PartsBMW M4 Competition M Performance PartsM Performance Door Still TrimsM Performance SuspensionM Performance Steering Wheel CoverM Performance ExhaustM Performance Rear Wing
If you are a BMW enthusiast, you’ve likely seen at least one M3-based pickup on the interwebs. Taking inspiration from the Aussie utes from that era, the Bavarian automaker’s go-faster division used the vehicle to haul whatnots in Garching, the home of BMW M GmbH. Based on the convertible-topped E30, the ute was originally equipped with the 2.0-liter engine of the 320is for the Italian market. Later on, the Bavarian automaker swapped it for the 2.3-liter powertrain that belts out 197 ponies on full song.

Revisited over the years in the guise of conversions and April Fools’ Day renderings, the M3 ute has been imagined with the G80 as the basis on this occasion. Theottle is the pixel artist behind this design study, which utilizes the bed and rear-quarter greenhouse and tonneau-covered bed from the Omega. To whom it may concern, Omega is the nameplate that General Motors used for the base model of the VE Commodore-based Holden Ute.

As for the G80 stuff, the Photoshop meister used the M3 Competition with a flurry of M Performance additions that include the quad-piped center exhaust system. Theottle couldn’t make a case for the ginormous rear wing of the sedan, and I can’t stress enough how much this rendering deserves it.

Taking so much weight off the rear axle would make the M3 Competition a bit of a handful on the raggedy edge of grip, and corrective steering isn’t enough to keep the tail under control in high-speed corners. The downside to adding a rear wing to a truck is that… well… it looks pretty darn weird.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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