The answer is nothing.
Recently I came across an old issue of Motor Trend that featured the BMW truck rendering on its cover. The cover happened to be the first and only time that featured a tri-folded accordion design. The odd designs caught my eye and I thought it would be cool to revisit the concept we're glad never happened.
After the X5-based pickup rendering debuted in the September 2000 issue of Motor Trend, it fell off the radar. The "sources" from back in the day, were admitting BMW had an interest in making a midsize pickup for the U.S. with a hopeful dream of having a 400-hp luxury truck that can do 0-60 mph in 5 seconds.
Rumors of the pickup surfaced shortly after the X5 SUV debuted. The Designworks studio in California was reported to be responsible for its creation. "They" even had plans to have it built out of the Spartanburg Plant in South Carolina, where the X5 is currently produced. The truck was to come in extended or four door variants with standard all-wheel drive with a 3.0L or 4.4L engine.
The idea of BMW’s truck dreams was resurrected in 2004 by our own design expert, Mark Stehrenberger, in a November/December issue news piece on European makers dipping into a new segment they were never intended to compete in. "Neither maker could compete with the likes of Ford, Dodge, or GM with a full-size pickup, but there could be an opportunity for both if they downsize."
"Just because European carmakers say they'll never design and manufacture a pickup truck exclusively for the U.S. market doesn't mean they aren't thinking about it. Key higher-ups at VW/Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have said repeatedly that they see no reason to compete against the Americans and Japanese in the midsize (mini- and midprice-) truck segment. Which, of course, means if they think they can charge a premium price and make it work, they'll do it in a heartbeat. Insiders have told us several variations on the theme are making the rounds as future product and technology discussions heat up." - Mark Williams
No new insight on the future of BMW’s plans to enter this segment has been seen since. But it was a nice little trip down memory lane…the lane we don’t want to see again. Please stick to SUVs.