BMW Releases 2011 April Fool’s Day Prank Release, Unveils Unusual M3 Modification

Many people around the world enjoy a good (or often really bad) April Fool’s Day joke, including some multinational auto corporations, and nobody revels in adding to the guarded confusion around the world than the BMW Auto Group.

Every April 1st, they send out a normally worded press release, that proposes some new off-the-wall product modification or addition, and this year is no different.

For 2011, the automaker has released specifications for a new modification to their legendary M division, BMW’s in-house tuning department.

“Following the BMW M3 Coupé, BMW M3 Convertible and BMW M3 Sedan, a fourth body variant of this globally successful high-performance sports car is about to cause a stir…The sportiest example by far in this vehicle category, the BMW M3 Pickup will fire the imaginations of all motorists with a deep appreciation of top performance matched by a keen practical bent…This unique vehicle has already completed extensive test and set-up drives on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in advance of its global unveiling on 1 April 2011.”

They say their Targa-roofed April Fool’s pickup boasts 420 horsepower, a rear-axle load of 992 pounds, and lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife with a top speed of 186 miles per hour.

BMW continued to elaborate on their pickup, saying “BMW M3 Pickup is clad in high-grade structured aluminium sheeting and provides the biggest cargo capacity ever offered on a BMW M vehicle. In terms of the unit of measurement generally applied to premium automobiles, that gives the loading area of the BMW M3 Pickup the capacity to carry up to 20 standard 46-inch golf bags. What’s more, the BMW M3 Pickup is the first BMW M3 variant in the 25-year-plus history of this model range to come with a trailer tow hitch.”

Despite these vehicular qualities that only an Australian could love, BMW says that the pickup “will not be heading for the golf course or series development, but will retain its status as an exclusive one-off.” They say that the M division plans to keep the jocular prototype as a workshop transport vehicle for their M division.

This is a decent prank from the German jesters, but so far, my favorite was 2008’s April Fool’s offering, where they introduced the BMW Canine Repellent Alloy Protection, or CRAP. That particular ad campaign showcased a product which would shock a creature which wet upon the wheels of an equipped BMW slightly, using power generated by their brake energy regeneration system. Granted, they also had quotes about the new fake product by a Dr. Hans Zoff, head of their automotive security division, lending to an air of whimsy not seen often from a large auto group.

If they really want to make people know they're lying, BMW should just send out a release saying they've actually made the iDrive and navigation systems less annoying.