A 2017 BMW i3 with over 100,000 miles, a missing 12-volt battery, and a neglected interior sold at online auction for $5,800. Most buyers would have walked away. YouTuber Michael Pick saw a pickup truck.
His finished product, a two-door trucklet carved from BMW’s quirky electric hatchback, cost just under $8,000 all in. That includes the car, every modification, and a replacement for the cracked windshield. The original goal was to stay under $10,000 with 300-plus miles of total range, and he beat both targets.
The conversion started after Pick got the car running. The missing 12-volt battery was an easy fix. The high-voltage pack was nearly dead, but the i3’s small two-cylinder gasoline range extender eventually fired up its generator and fed enough juice to get the car moving.
Once he confirmed the mechanical and electrical systems were sound, the cutting began. BMW built the i3’s passenger cell primarily from carbon fiber, exotic stuff for a city car and a nightmare for someone trying to hack it apart with power tools. Pick had to measure carefully before removing the rear hatch, part of the roof, and the back seats.
Curtain airbags came out before the roof got sectioned. What remained needed a reinforced steel structure to support a new cab wall and pickup bed.
The bed itself is wood, paired with adjustable aluminum tie-down rails and a removable tailgate net. Custom 3D-printed taillight housings reuse the original LED units. An RV window seals the new rear cab wall, and because the range extender sits beneath the bed, Pick built in servicing access so he wouldn’t have to tear the truck apart for maintenance.
Inside, the factory 6.5-inch infotainment screen gave way to a 12.3-inch unit with Apple CarPlay. The steering wheel got refurbished and seat covers went on. Using a Bluetooth adapter and coding software, Pick unlocked BMW’s hidden state-of-charge feature, letting him choose when the gasoline range extender kicks in rather than waiting for the battery to drain to its default threshold.
That kind of control matters in a vehicle like this, where the gas engine never touches the wheels. It only spins a generator.
On a full charge, the converted i3 manages about 100 miles of electric range. Add the range extender and extra fuel capacity, and the total climbs past 340 miles. For a vehicle that cost less than a decent used Corolla, those numbers are hard to argue with.
BMW itself has flirted with the truck idea exactly three times, none seriously. An E30 pickup built in 1986 hauled parts around BMW Motorsport’s facilities. An E92 M3 ute appeared for April Fools’ Day 2011, and in 2019 trainees turned an X7 into a teak-lined luxury pickup designed to carry a motorcycle.
All were one-offs, and company officials have explicitly ruled out production. So Pick’s i3 trucklet joins a club of BMW pickups that were never meant to exist. The difference is that his actually gets used.
With affordable electric pickups still largely vaporware, waiting on established automakers hasn’t been a winning strategy for budget-minded buyers. The Slate promises to change that eventually, but “eventually” has a way of stretching.
Pick’s total spend of roughly $2,200 in parts and labor beyond the purchase price puts this conversion in weekend-project territory. Whether the carbon fiber structure holds up long-term under truck duty is another question entirely, one that only miles and time will answer.
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