BMW X7 Official Pickup Truck Is A One-Off Luxury Workhorse

Remember the BMW X7 truck rendering we shared with you in October last year? It was just a virtual design exercise and, frankly, it was not especially great. Well, forget about it as there is a new X7 pickup – and this time it's real, designed and built by the Bavarian company itself. It will be presented during this year's BMW Motorrad Days as a one-off project by BMW vocational trainees in cooperation with the Concept Vehicle Construction and Model Technology divisions at the BMW Munich plant.

The conversion turns the seven-seat posh SUV into a five-seat truck with a handcrafted loading area finished in fine-polished wood. The total length of the cargo bed spans from 55 inches (1.4 meters) to 79 inches (2.0 meters) with the rear lid open. BMW explains that it used CFRP for some components on the roof, rear doors, and cargo beg, resulting in a reduced weight by approximately 440 pounds (200 kilograms) compared to the production model.

As a concept that is going to be exhibited during a motorcycle show, the automaker loads the truck with a BMW F 850 GS bike for the official press photos. BMW describes the duo as "faithful companions" – thanks to "their excellent driving characteristics both on paved and unpaved roads, the journey is the destination."

The process of transforming a production X7 into a show car took the team behind the project exactly ten months. In fact, the trainees saved an X7 pre-production test vehicle from being scrapped as a low-cost solution for a basis of their development. The trainees were given all the freedom when deciding on the overall conception and implementation but received expert assistance normally provided in concept car construction. Unfortunately, BMW makes it clear it has no intentions to bring the X7 pickup into production