By now, the story of the E30 3 Series is well known. It's the car that established BMW as a sports sedan legend and remains one of the most-loved cars the company has produced. But we bet you didn't know BMW secretly built this M3-powered E30 pickup truck back in 1986.

As company historians explain, BMW Motorsport thought the M3 would make a great parts hauler at the campus of what became the M division. They started with the body from a convertible 3 Series and built the Frankenstein you see here.

"The convertible body shell was chosen as the basis for two reasons," said Jakob Polschak, head of vehicle prototype building and workshops at BMW M Division. "Firstly, we happened to have such a model at our disposal and in perfect condition. And secondly, the convertible's built-in bracing made it the ideal choice for a pickup conversion."

Over the next 26 years, BMW's M division used the vehicle regularly, only retiring it in 2012. And while it started life with the emissions-restricted 192-horsepower two-liter engine used on some E30s, it eventually received the S14 four-cylinder used in the original M3.

Sadly, as we all know, the M3 Ute remained a one-of-a-kind prototype. Still, that hasn't stopped people from building their own.

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