BMW has whipped the covers off what might be the world’s most luxurious pick-up truck - a new X7-based ute.
The X7 ute features a five-seat configuration, and what BMW calls a “handcrafted loading area” that’s finished in polished-wood panelling. And thanks to its two-stage air suspension, the rear height adjustable to help with loading.
Given the ute has been built (by the brands’s trainees) to celebrate the Motorrad Days event, the X7 can obviously handle a bike - in this case a BMW F 850 GS.
Under the bonnet lives the engine from the X7 xDrive40i; a turbocharged six-cylinder good for 250kW and 450Nm.
The teakwood-lined loading area is 1.4m in length, but stretches to 2.0m when the tailgate is folded down and fixed in place. And the brand has used carbon-fibre plastic on the roof, rear doors and the cover for the tray, helping shave 200kg off the kerb weight off the X7 donor car.
BMW says it took a team of 12 trainees just 10 months to finish the ute - but don’t hold your breath for anything like a production version; BMW has made it clear it has no interest in building an X-Class rival.
This one, though, is road legal, with BMW saying its creators will be taking it for a drive after its show duties are complete.
"I am pleased about the synergies between BMW Group Vocational Training, Concept Vehicle Construction and Model Technology, allowing these young talents to prove their abilities with such an extraordinary project," says BMW’s Milagros Caiña-Andree.
Should BMW build a ute for real? Tell us in the comments below.
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold.
But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul.
And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard.
When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House.
But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others.
More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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