And the first BMW to sell in big numbers in the U. S. E30 was being manufactured up until 1994, but its successor, E36, entered production in 1990. How can it be? Well, at first, E36 was only made as a coupe and until other versions were made available, the E30 was still being manufactured. It was slowly phased out. Touring (estate version of the E30) was the last E30 to leave the factory in 1994. M3 is a very practical performance vehicle. But making it into a pickup just doesn’t sound good.
However, the only M3 pickup produced by the actual M Division was meant to be used in the facility to deliver parts. It was made in 1986 by converting a normal 3 Series convertible into a performance pickup with a 2 litre engine. Later it got a proper 2.3 litre engine and it was still being regularly used in the M Division campus until 2012. Many enthusiasts created their own E30 pickups as well. E30 was designed by the German car designer Claus Luthe. He is regarded as one of the most important people forming modern European car design. In his portfolio we would find not only E30, but also Audi 50, BMW E28, and Volkswagen K70. Have you ever been in an Audi 100 C2? Its interior also has been designed by Luthe. He also supervised the design process of the E31 8 Series.
