Engineering a Debunking

Car enthusiasts come together to dig up the truth behind "leaked photos" of a much-anticipated sports car

By Mike Spinelli Posted 05.05.2008 at 4:47 pm 4 Comments

The BMW M1? autoblog.com

The Internet loves a scoop, and car lovers love to speculate on new models. That's the perfect environment in which to incubate Photoshop renderings of sports cars hinted at, but unconfirmed. The latest engagement of wishful thinking hit the Internet this past weekend. It's a take on a car BMW officials have yet to announce but which the German media has been predicting for several years: the return of the BMW M1, a two-seat sports car the Munich-based company built in the mid-1970s.

The new supercar is projected to compete with Audi's R8. With little to go on, one artist speculates it'll take cues from BMW's entire range of M-designated sports models, with an engine set in the rear.

Ford GT: dieselstation.com

Car site Autoblog posted the rendering, which had appeared unattributed this past weekend on a site called FreshTarmac.com. Autoblog writers qualified the find heavily, and within minutes readers had pinpointed the original photo on which the illustration was based (the Ford at left), effectively proving its falsehood. Still, it's a perfect example of what happens when hopes and facts collide in the online automotive space.

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4 Comments

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torentx

05/05/08 at 11:12 pm

i personally must say, that for a simulation, regardless of what level, i think that car just looks awsome. the design cues are so very appealing. my own personal, uneducated in the field of engineering, opinion is that the car looks great and can only hope that if bmw does come up with a car that can compete with the r8 or a new m1, it should look like that. that car is just soo bmw, in the best way possible. i love it, i love it, i love it

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Tym29

05/05/08 at 11:59 pm

but too crappy to be a BMW 5 years from now. it take that long to put a car into production and a new BMW is going to look a lot more innovative than a simple rebadge like the one above.

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gayasstechie

05/06/08 at 12:44 pm

Actually BMW did just show an M1 concept that looks nothing like this at all. I don't like that one either. It sort of looks like a Dodge Challenger knocked up an 8 Series coupe They should NOT have done it in the same orange that Dodge did with the Challenger Concept especially with the cowled headlights. Also there's a big BIG gap between the hatch and the rear deck which looks like someone tried to stuff too many groceries back there. I almost expect to see a bungee cord holding it down in the back.

BMWs are getting way fug, like the X6, GROSS! It reminds me of the man-bear-pig from southpark. If you really want to see where Bimmer design is going look at the CS concept. It's pretty but it's still a rip off and this time it looks like a Charger raped an Aston Martin after an Amy Winehouse concert. I'm talking about the exaggerated rear fender crease which while tough looking is not a BMW hallmark, and the front looks like a Maserati on vicodin. Rape babies are always going to be depressed, and should be aborted...

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Rooster750

05/06/08 at 4:17 pm

I'd buy that car in 5 years if they made it.

I was not a fan of the original M1, but this looks much much better.

Just give me a heads up so I can start stashing the cash away for it.