BMW M Concept: Surf's Up, R8!

...or not quite. What you can see in the adjacent photos is not actually an official BMW project, but the handy work of designer Idries Noah. Noah, who in his professional past worked for GM Australia's Holden as a visualization designer, says he drew the M Concept because he "grew impatient waiting for BMW to bring out an R8 rival".

The M Concept has not yet left (who knows if it ever will) Noah's computer, hence the only technical feature dreamt up by the designer is the engine of the M: no more, no less than a 5l V10 unit (the one to be found on the M6, but with a bit more power: 536 hp) Otherwise, characteristics like speed, acceleration, fuel consumptions are yet to be decided.

As you can see for yourselves, the M does look a bit like the R8, while keeping at the same time its BMW identity. The designer says he got inspired from...scratch. "I needed (to clear my head and come up with something totally unique while still keeping some BMW details."

Noah says that, actually, his muse for the project was nature itself. Apart from the kidney grille and the "hockey stick pillar", which are sourced from BMW, the rest of the car is designed to be reminiscent of water and the way it flows.

"The side (detailing was inspired by what’s called in surfing terms a Barrel or Tube. It’s where the wave is hollow when it breaks."

"If this car had to go into production in today’s day and age it would probably lose most of its aggressiveness and bold design features (And that’s sad because imagine pulling up next to an R8 in this…," Noah's says, according to seriouswheels.com.

It does have a bit of a ring to it, doesn't it?