The legacy of BMW includes 2 funky pickup trucks

BMW makes vehicles admired by many performance-car enthusiasts. The automaker’s reputation, like other German automakers’ pedigrees, is well-heeled and varied.

The carmaker makes comfortable sedans that power along the open road like sports cars.

What’s less known is BMW’s foray into pickup trucks. It made the E30 M3 and the E92 M3.

The E30 M3 debut in 1986. It had a 2.3 liter engine with 200 horsepower and it was a soft top convertible. The pickup wasn’t a success but it lasted for 26 years — as a transport vehicle for the manufacturer.

BMW pickup trucks didn’t sell well

The carmaker also made a second M3 pickup, the E92. It included a 4.0-liter V8. It was short-lived and only was viewed as a prototype.

Both of the BMW pickup trucks featured load bins lined with aluminum tread plating.

The legend of the prototype E92 will celebrate a decade next month. It debuted on April Fools’ Day in 2011. The joke backfired — sort of.

BMW never intended to make the vehicle to sell to the public, but it was well-received. And in the past decades, advocates have expressed their hopes the carmaker for another pickup truck.

Even as recently as the 2018 Paris Auto Show, executives in the carmaker’s Australia division, advocated for the pickup truck to return. They were told it’s not in the company’s plans. The market share potential is took small, the company”s decision makers reiterated.