Article Summary
- The quirky hatch was bought sight unseen at an online auction for $5,800, with the builder spending roughly another $2,200 on the conversion and upgrades.
- The DIY conversion includes a custom wooden bed, adjustable aluminum tie-down rails, and a removable tailgate net.
- The finished truck delivers around 100 miles of electric range, with the gasoline range extender and extra fuel extending total range beyond 340 miles.
BMW has toyed with the idea of a truck several times, but the closest you’ll get to one with an official roundel is one of three factory-built one-offs. The first was an E30 pickup created in 1986 to haul parts around BMW Motorsport’s facilities, followed by an E92 M3 ute for April Fools’ Day 2011. In 2019, trainees went in a different direction by transforming an X7 into a luxurious pickup with a teak-lined bed designed to carry an F 850 GS motorcycle.
However, none made it to series production, so this homebuilt i3 joins a rather exclusive club of BMW trucks never meant to be sold. With affordable electric pickups still hard to come by, at least until the Slate arrives, one DIY enthusiast decided to stop waiting for automakers to get the memo. Instead, he bought a high-mileage 2017 i3 with a range extender and transformed the tiny hatchback into a trucklet. The total bill? Just under $8,000.
The project started with a simple question: Do you really need to spend $40,000 on an electric pickup? With gas prices climbing and new electric trucks remaining expensive, YouTuber Michael Pick wanted something small, practical, and cheap to run. The original plan called for a build costing less than $10,000 with more than 300 miles of total range. As it turns out, he managed to beat his budget by a couple of grand.
From Five-Door Hatchback To A Two-Door Truck
Of course, this wasn’t exactly a straightforward conversion. The i3 had more than 100,000 miles on the clock, a neglected interior, and one rather significant problem: It wouldn’t start. After buying it sight unseen at an online auction, he discovered that the 12-volt battery was missing. Installing a replacement brought the car back to life, but the high-voltage battery was nearly empty, too. Fortunately, the range extender eventually fired up and generated enough electricity to get the diminutive BMW moving.
Before breaking out the power tools, he thoroughly cleaned the i3 and checked that its mechanical and electrical systems were working. Then came the radical part: cutting into the bodywork. Unlike a conventional car, the i3 has a passenger cell made primarily from carbon fiber. That’s impressive engineering for a small city car, but it made the conversion considerably more complicated.
He had to carefully measure where to cut before removing the rear hatch, part of the roof, the rear seats, and other components he no longer needed. He even had to remove the curtain airbags before cutting the roof. With the back opened up, he needed a reinforced steel structure to support the new cab and pickup bed.
Between the custom rear cab wall, RV window, wooden bed, and various 3D-printed parts, this i3 is a Frankenstein of a truck. The custom components include taillight housings that reuse the original LEDs and caps to cover the exposed roof rails. Because the range extender sits beneath the bed, servicing access was a must. Other additions include adjustable aluminum tie-down rails and a lightweight tailgate net.
This BMW i3’s Interior Also Went Through Changes
Inside, the aging i3 received a few welcome upgrades. The factory 6.5-inch infotainment display made way for a much larger 12.3-inch screen with Apple CarPlay. He also refurbished the steering wheel, installed seat covers, and replaced neglected components. Using a Bluetooth adapter and coding software, he unlocked BMW’s hidden state-of-charge feature, letting him control when the gasoline-powered range extender kicks in instead of waiting for the battery to drop to its usual threshold.
That last modification is particularly useful because the i3 is a range-extended electric vehicle, not a conventional hybrid. Its small two-cylinder gasoline engine doesn’t drive the wheels directly; it operates a generator that supplies electricity when the battery runs low. The setup lets the converted pickup run on battery power for everyday trips while carrying a backup power source for longer journeys.
The final tally came to just under $8,000, including the car, the modifications, and a replacement for the cracked windshield. As for range, the i3 can travel around 100 miles on a full charge. With the range extender and extra fuel, the trucklet can cover more than 340 miles before needing to refuel and recharge.
Would a factory-built BMW pickup make sense? Probably not, which is why company officials have explicitly ruled it out. But after seeing what one determined owner accomplished with an auction car and a pile of custom parts, it’s hard not to appreciate the ingenuity. Sometimes, the cheapest new truck is the one you build yourself.
Video: Michael Pick / YouTube
