BMW has never made a ute for the mass market, but that didn’t stop one fan of Australia’s most famous car creation from building their own.
For the 2022 SEMA show in Las Vegas, carbon-fibre specialty company DinMann made its own BMW ute by chopping up a brand-new M4 Competition xDrive, removing everything past the B-pillars to create a rear tub.
The custom M4 didn’t just take visual inspiration from Australia’s Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon utes either, with DinMann adding the ‘Maloo’ title to its name, long the badge applied to Holden Special Vehicles’ (HSV’s) performance utes.
Now, just over three years after making its debut, the ‘M4 Maloo’ is up for sale, listed for US$145,000 – equivalent to almost $205,000.
For context, in the US the current M4 Competition xDrive (which has been treated to a facelift since the M4 Maloo’s creation) retails from US$91,500 before taxes, while in Australia a stock version starts from $191,900 plus on-road costs.
Of course, there is the cost of the conversion and DinMann’s catalogue of aftermarket parts on the M4 Maloo to take into account, which includes tuning to its twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six engine that sends drive to all four wheels – something HSV and FPV never did with their single-cab performance utes.
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It wouldn’t be the most expensive ute in history if it sells for that price either, with one of just four HSV GTSR W1 Maloos selling in December last year for $1.2 million, making it the most expensive Holden road car ever auctioned.
While BMW has previously built utes as one-offs to be used internally or as concepts, last year it said the pickup segment isn’t on its radar.
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