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The BMW M3 turns 30 this year and to celebrate BMW has let some of its M3-based one-off Frankenstein creations out into the sunlight.
While the M3 made its name as an incredibly successful race car in championships like DTM and the BTCC, apparently BMW’s motorsport department also saw it as the perfect base for a parts transport vehicle and thus the E30 M3 ute was born.
Initially the car was fitted with a 143kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder offered in Italian M3s for taxation reasons, however it was later upgraded to the proper 147kW 2.3-litre engine.
Despite its one-off status, the E30 M3 ute wasn’t just built for a laugh. It spent 26 years performing the role it was designed for, transporting parts around the factory premises before being retired four years ago, its life of toil recorded by the odometer reading of 26,637km.
BMW’s M3 ’30 Jahre’ anniversary model goes on sale later this year.
