So, check this out. If you’re in Florida and you’re a big fan of ’90s BMWs but you also need a truck, what do you do? Well, if you’re Brian Lutton, you take matters into your own hands and transform an old 750i into a ute. But hey, that wasn’t enough for Brian. He needed some serious towing power, so he decided to build another one. This time, he’s going all out with a 6×6 setup and a crazy hybrid twin-turbo V12 powertrain. Talk about pushing the limits, right?
The whole idea behind this project was to have a vehicle that could tow project cars between Florida and Michigan, where Brian went to college. He started off by cutting up an E38 7 Series, adding a pickup bed, and voila, the BMW ute was born. The original setup had a stock BMW engine, a standard five-speed automatic transmission, and was rear-wheel drive. The only tweaks were some chassis bracing, air suspension, and a transmission cooler to handle the towing load. Surprisingly, the engine had over 270,000 miles on it but could still tow another 7 Series on a trailer. Brian claims that it could tow almost as well as a half-ton pickup truck.
But wait, there’s more. Brian soon realized that his first creation couldn’t handle towing two cars at once. So, he went back to the drawing board and decided to take things up a notch. He got his hands on another clean 7 Series, chopped off the trunk, and then attached the bed from the first ute along with its rear axle. The end result? A luxury sedan with not one, but two rear axles. Now, that’s some serious engineering right there. And the craziness didn’t stop there.
Under the hood of this beast is a BMW M73 5.4-liter V12 engine, now equipped with not one, but two turbochargers. Brian ditched the old five-speed ZF automatic and swapped it out for an eight-speed ZF auto and xDrive system from a 2018 BMW X5 diesel, making it a four-wheel drive monster. The front subframe and differential are from a 2003 BMW X5, tweaked to fit the setup. And to add to the madness, the rear differential is a limited-slip unit from an E60-generation BMW M5. The project is currently a 4×6 pickup, with the rear axle set to be powered soon by an electric motor from a Tesla Model 3. Brian’s also working on fitting a BMW i3 battery pack to power it, creating what could possibly be the most unique BMW ute in the world when it’s all said and done.
So, there you have it. Brian Lutton’s insane creation is still a work in progress, with plenty of battery and motor calibration to be done. But hey, when it’s complete, it’s safe to say that he’ll have one of the most jaw-dropping project cars out there. The V12, hybrid, four-door, 6×6 BMW-ish ute is definitely not your average vehicle, but that’s what makes it so darn cool. Who knows what other surprises Brian has in store for this wild ride?
