Professional golfer Stuart Appleby commissioned a custom car shop dubbed Southern Rod in Australia to covert his BMW M5 into an El Camino-style car. The car is easily translated into a car with a truck bed, or Ute.
Stemming from a childhood love of Utes and the M versions of the German luxury cars, Appleby's creation is a very creative and arguably rare car suitable for drifting. Appleby has a known history of tuning his cars to boost their built-in horsepower. The BMW is said to have taken months to complete, and it meets or exceeds all three of Appleby’s essential car needs: a Ute, a BMW M car and more horsepower.
BMW is also rumored to be testing a similar variation of the car to release to the public.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Custom Car Conversions
- The trend of converting luxury sedans into unique and specialized vehicles like truckbed cars or Utes provides an opportunity for custom car shops to offer creative and personalized solutions for car enthusiasts.
- Performance Tuning
- The trend of tuning luxury cars to enhance their built-in horsepower unlocks a disruptive innovation opportunity for businesses to develop and market high-performance car modifications and upgrades.
- Luxury Car Variations
- The trend of creating unique variations of luxury cars, such as BMW's rumored truckbed car, presents an opportunity for automakers to cater to niche markets and offer differentiated and specialized vehicles.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Custom Car Shops
- Custom car shops can take advantage of the trend of car conversions by providing bespoke services to transform luxury sedans into custom-built vehicles, such as truckbed cars or Utes.
- Automotive Performance Tuning
- Businesses in the automotive performance tuning industry can capitalize on the trend of tuning luxury cars by offering high-quality modifications and upgrades that enhance a vehicle's horsepower and performance.
- Luxury Automotive Manufacturing
- Automakers can leverage the trend of creating unique luxury car variations by developing and producing specialized vehicles, like BMW's rumored truckbed car, to cater to niche markets and attract car enthusiasts with distinctive preferences.
