Best April fools day jokes by car companies - pictures

One of BMW's best April Fools jokes was the 2009 announcement of Magnetic Tow Technology. The system purported to use a magnetic field letting BMW drivers get a cheeky tow

It’s not just car manufacturers that like an April Fools’ Day prank. In 2010 Auto Windscreens revisited an old joke by announcing the world’s first prescription windscreen.

As election fever gripped the country in 2010, BMW looked to cash in with a political April Fools’ Day effort. The Political Roundel Attachment Tag (PRAT) was born..

SEAT probably put a lot of energy into its wind turbine-equipped Ibiza Ecomotive April Fools' effort in 2009.

Kia really pushed the Photoshop boat out in generating the images of its Aero-Soul April Fools' gag in 2009.

The car was said to be modified with a new ‘Air Propulsion and Retardation Installation Line system’ that harnessed the power of the wind to save fuel.

In 2008Kia looked to capitalise on the success of the Nintendo Wii games console with a KEE_Wii concept car April Fools’ Day joke.

In 2006 Vauxhall announced a neat optional extra for its Astra VXR. The Accelerator Pedal Retarding Retarding Intervention Lump.

When is an April Fools’ Day joke not an April Fools Day joke, When it’s a real BMW M3 pick-up.

BMW lifted the lid on this 414bhp V8 ute based on its M3 Convertible in 2011, proudly announcing that there was enough space in the back for 20 golf bags!

We sniggered but it turned out that the M3 pick-up was real. It was subsequently spotted lapping the Nurburgring and, weighing 50kg less than an M3 Coupe, is said to be capable of 186mph.

Hyundai treated us to an unlikely modified Popemobile version of its i10 city car in on April Fools Day 2009.

SEAT came over all James Bond with its 2008 April Fools’ Day joke. A press release revealed the manufacturer had developed groundbreaking ‘electro reflective’ exterior panels.

Peugeot announced a new personalisation option for its cars in April 2014. The Audio Sonic Personalisation Programme for car horns invited customers to record their own sounds for their car’s horn.

Capable of covering 40 miles on a single cup and equipped with Dunk Avoidance Technology to prevent unscrupulous individuals from lowering biscuits into the fuel tank, the tea-powered Cooper T was a tough one to swallow.

You’ve heard of the Cooper S and Cooper D MINI models, well MINI asked you to suspend disbelief to accommodate a Cooper T on April Fools’ Day 2014. It sounds plausible until you learned the car supposedly runs on tea.

BMW announced a new system that puts the thrill back in to driving for April Fools Day 2014. It claimed that the Force Injection Booster works by “extracting kinetic energy from the car’s engine and converting it into positive g-forces.

The nippy little Mazda MX-5 can now be enjoyed by the whole family - thanks to Mazda's introduction of the four-seater version on April Fool's Day 2014.

In 2014 Vauxhall attempted to dupe the nation with a special edition Astra Copacabana tied-in with the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

The footballer graphics on the flanks and giant Brazilian flag on the roof were just about believable. The turf-covered seats, sand-filled footwells and on-board cocktail vending machine, less so.

Red Bull announced a new addition to its F1 steering wheel for April Fools’ Day 2014 – technology that would allow drivers to tweet during a race.

Skoda introduced us to the Yeti Ice special edition for April Fools’ Day 2014. The car features a special faux fur finish developed by Skoda engineers working in the Himalayas.

VW proposed the Caddy Maxi Mini, a 2.4m long micro van with one seat and only enough room for a tool box or the driver's lunch. Basically, you could take more with you if you got the bus.

VW proposed the Caddy Maxi Mini, a 2.4m long micro van with one seat and only enough room for a tool box or the driver's lunch. Basically, you could take more with you if you got the bus.</p>

Mercedes claimed it was planning a 503bhp panel van with a twin-turbo V8 for April Fools' Day 2015.

As well as the two gas-fired spit rotisserie grills, the modified Vivaro is said to have salad bowls integrated into the arm rests, chilli dispensers and of course a tasty selection of sauces.

Vauxhall announced a breakthrough for the evening entertainment industry for April Fools' 2015. The Taxi Kebabi is a 9-seater Vauxhall Vivaro Combi taxi with built-in kebab shop.

The GYM button disables labour saving gadgets like power steering and increases the force required to operate the pedals and gearbox. Suddenly your drive to work becomes a blood vessel bursting workout.

On April 1st 2015, Skoda revealed the solution to the age old car buying question, what colour should i choose? The answer being 'all of them'.

Dr Gio Kyng of Prague University, "each panel is coated with a microscopic layer of unobtainium – a newly discovered element that changes colour when a small electrical charge is applied to it."

Like Porsche, Jeep shared its April Fools via social media channels. The Wrangler Grille Grill is, well, shaped like the grille from a Wrangler!

MG thought it'd have a crack at an April Fool's joke and used that old chestnut of revealing its first invisible car. With help from Professor C. Thrue and Chief Designer Avril F'ouil.

There’s a pull-out umbrella in the door of the Skoda Superb executive saloon so the logical next step is to install a second rain shield for use by dogs.

There’s a pull-out umbrella in the door of the Skoda Superb executive saloon so the logical next step is to install a second rain shield for use by dogs.

With emoji symbols now infiltrating all aspects of modern life, Honda couldn’t resist weighing-in with the Emoji numberplate. Here smilie faces and other nonsensical pics replace traditional letters and numbers.

Vauxhall claimed to have entered a new era of “zero running costs and emissions” this year with the launch of its Adam C. Closer inspection reveals that this is the world’s first full size wind-up car.

MINI chose to target its 2016 April Fools effort at the growing ‘hipster’ market, offering us the “world premier of the MINI Hipster hatch”. The spoof car features ‘Instagram filtered windows’ and ‘a twin-deck cassette player’.

MINI chose to target its 2016 April Fools effort at the growing ‘hipster’ market.

It's the Ice-cream MAN! Unveiled by MAN trucks “on the sundae before” the 2017 Commercial Vehicle Show

MG’s voice controlled emoji windscreen uses MG Inter-Car Emoji technology or MICE, giving MG customers the opportunity to proudly inform friends that their car has MICE

There were probably serious health implications around the Dacia ‘Sundero’ sunbed car but it still raised a laugh back in 2017.

Under Hyundai's Click to Fly scheme customers could supposedly purchase their vehicle on Hyundai’s Click to Buy website and have it delivered in hours by a team of airborne ‘Hy-drones’.

Lexus's April Fools' Day offering for 2017 was the 'Lane Valet' tech which could move lane hoggers aside at the press of a button. Not the worst idea in the world, actually...

McLaren got in on the act in 2017 with a feather wrap for the 570GT supercar

The dDrive dog bed from 2018 had a BMW TwinPower Turbo Fan to recreate the sensation of sticking your head out of a car window.

It's tricky to know when to take Elon Musk seriously. In 2018, he tweeted saying, “Tesla Goes Bankrupt Palo Alto, California, April 1, 2018...". This was not the case.

Are we there yet? Drown out the kids with Skoda's noise-cancelling headrest. Bliss.

SEAT’s Arona Copper Edition was a car that runs on your loose change.

An MG fuelled by alpaca poo pellets. Yes, really.

Mclaren told us it was going to new lengths in search of efficiency gains in 2018 with a range of measures including daily monitoring of the depth of the lake and size of the floor tiles at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking.

A little Photoshop trickery would certainly have sufficed but it’s good to know that the Honda Concept CR-V Roadster does actually exist in the real world.</p>

Aston Martin would never build a monster truck. Would they?

We all love a good puddle light but what if they could send messages? Skoda tried to trick us in 2018.

Land Rover said it had installed the UK’s most remote charging point in 2018 - 15 miles up a mountain on the Isle of Skye

The Fiat Panda Hawaii edition commemorated the tenth anniversary of the TV show ‘The Inbetweeners.’

In 2018 Castle Combe Circuit pledged it would separate from the United Kingdom to form its own sovereign state, in an attempt to remain politically neutral amidst Brexit uncertainties.

Tyres that paint the road as you drive was MG's effort in 2018.

BMW Lunar Paint was embedded with “revolutionary photovoltaic technology,” allowing the firm’s all-electric and hybrid models to passively recharge at night as they drive.

The 2018 Audi b-tron ran on honey. Of course it did.

Toyota proposed a Yaris pick-up in 2018, for buyers “who want to tell their friends they own a truck, but never veer off the pavement.”

In 2021 Volkswagen said they were rebranding their US operations as Voltswagen. After much confusion, it turned out they were not doing any such thing.

WeBuyAnyCar.com and Little Tykes Toys combined to bring us WeBuyAnyCarCozyCoupe

Caterham launched the 'Seven Lube' to help customers get in and out of its cars.

At 9am on 1 April 2021, Dacia DUSTAR - the world’s first affordable space programme - was launched.

Porsche's Paint to Sample prank claimed customers could replicate rust on their cars

Singing in your car will never be the same again with Skoda's In Tune software

Does it look bleak outside? Not anymore thanks to Alfa Romeo's filtered car windows