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.
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.
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.