Dropped Jaws At The Nordschleife: BMW Introduces The World's Fastest Truck

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: April 1st, 2011

dropped jaws at the nordschleife bmw introduces the world s fastest truck

A truck at the Nordschleife? No, no service truck. One that does some 190 mph. Possibly more. A truck made by BMW. In a press release, BMW dubs it “the world’s fastest pickup.” If they say so. One needs to be very careful with these statements in Germany, lest someone will sue you faster than the truck completes the Nordschleife lap.

BMW’s in-house tuning shop BMW M GmbH follows the BMW M3 Coupé, the BMW M3 Convertible and the BMW M3 Sedan – with a truck. As the pictures will attest, they basically chopped the metal off the rear of a Dreier and gave it the 420 hp 8-cylinder engine familiar from the other hopped-up Dreiers.

By now you probably want to know how the bimmer truck did in the Nordschleife. That is still a secret at BMW: “Official lap times have not yet been released, but the needle in the dial vouched for a top speed of 300 km/h,” says the press release.

However, they built a credible half ton truck. It is officially good for 450kg load capacity. The comment by BMW that the truck bed has the “capacity to carry up to 20 standard 46-inch golf bags” gives an indication that the world’s fastest truck is not intended for farm work. But if you want to lug around some horses or a boat: The BMW M3 Pickup is the first M3 in the more than quarter century history of the M series to come with a tow hitch.

Will you be able to buy it? Not yet. Officially, the world’s fastest truck is a one-off which “is earmarked for use as a workshop transport vehicle for BMW M GmbH.” Yeah, sure. A factory truck with a press release? A factory truck with “a world premiere on April 1 ?” Who are they kidding? The current BMW M3 Pickup has gone through the lengthy and complicated procedures to earn its road certification. You don’t do that if you just want to move parts from one end of the factory to the other at 300 kilometers per hour.

But wait a minute: It already is April 1. It’s an outrage. How come they let members of the accredited automotive press wait until the official launch? Where is our press truck?

#BertelSchmitt #BMW #BMWM3Pickup #Germany

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 20 comments

VelocityRed3 on Apr 01, 2011

Now, who CANNOT picture this in the Craftsman Truck Series, hehe.

Like Reply
Athos Nobile on Apr 01, 2011

I only guess how that Ute would sell down here. Then I imagine it like some of the SSV, Maloo, XR8 and XR6 I've seen... carrying contractor stuff around

Like Reply

Recent Comments

MaintenanceCosts Nobody here seems to acknowledge that there are multiple use cases for cars.Some people spend all their time driving all over the country and need every mile and minute of time savings. ICE cars are better for them right now.Some people only drive locally and fly when they travel. For them, there's probably a range number that works, and they don't really need more. For the uses for which we use our EV, that would be around 150 miles. The other thing about a low range requirement is it can make 120V charging viable. If you don't drive more than an average of about 40 miles/day, you can probably get enough electrons through a wall outlet. We spent over two years charging our Bolt only through 120V, while our house was getting rebuilt, and never had an issue.Those are extremes. There are all sorts of use cases in between, which probably represent the majority of drivers. For some users, what's needed is more range. But I think for most users, what's needed is better charging. Retrofit apartment garages like Tim's with 240V outlets at every spot. Install more L3 chargers in supermarket parking lots and alongside gas stations. Make chargers that work like Tesla Superchargers as ubiquitous as gas stations, and EV charging will not be an issue for most users.
MaintenanceCosts I don't have an opinion on whether any one plant unionizing is the right answer, but the employees sure need to have the right to organize. Unions or the credible threat of unionization are the only thing, history has proven, that can keep employers honest. Without it, we've seen over and over, the employers have complete power over the workers and feel free to exploit the workers however they see fit. (And don't tell me "oh, the workers can just leave" - in an oligopolistic industry, working conditions quickly converge, and there's not another employer right around the corner.)
Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh [h3]Wake me up when it is a 1989 635Csi with a M88/3[/h3]
BrandX "I can charge using the 240V outlets, sure, but it’s slow."No it's not. That's what all home chargers use - 240V.
Jalop1991 does the odometer represent itself in an analog fashion? Will the numbers roll slowly and stop wherever, or do they just blink to the next number like any old boring modern car?