April Fools’ Day was nearly a week ago, but it’s only now we’ve discovered the prank BMW Czech Republic tried to pull on us. The pompously called “Pi7ck Up Adventure Glamping Expedition Version” is a digital (and purely hypothetical) interpretation of the i7 Sedan as an electric pickup truck. It boasts chunky plastic body cladding around the wheel arches, which host meaty off-road tires for go-anywhere capabilities.
Not that it matters a great deal since the single-cab ute doesn’t exist, but we’re being told it has a jacked-up air suspension providing a ground clearance of 220 millimeters, which is 6 mm more than an X6. The imaginary pickup boasts something called an “Ultramatic xDrive” system with fully variable torque distribution, capable of sending all power to a single wheel.
It retains the massive 3215 mm wheelbase of the 7 Series Sedan G70 but with two fewer doors as the rear has been modified to accommodate a truck bed with a built-in tent and a cargo box. BMW Czech Republic claims the tent is wrapped in a solar film to harvest the energy and power the LEDs inside without draining the vehicle’s 101.7-kWh battery pack. The tent hosts various camping equipment, along with champagne glasses, a refrigerator, and a double bed.
Of course, this isn’t the first time BMW is “releasing” a pickup as an April Fools’ Day prank. Back in 2011, it unveiled an M3-based ute with 420 horsepower and a load capacity of 450 kilograms. Its spiritual successor can carry more than twice the load, at 1,000 kg. Although the German luxury brand is staying away from the lucrative truck segment, it has actually engineered a couple of workhorses over the years.
Aside from the one-off X7 pickup unveiled in 2019, BMW built an M3 E30-based truck back in 1986 and used it for various chores during the next 26 years, retiring the vehicle in 2012.
At last year’s SEMA show, there was a brand-new M4 converted for pickup truck duties by the Dinmann tuning shop.
Source: BMW
