New 3 Series Leaked? We Think Not.

The French automotive site aptly named Automobile.fr has what they claim are leaked CG image of the next generation F30 3 Series. While there is some interesting validatey in the design of the CG images, we are relatively skeptical based on the site’s track record. For those of who read MotoringFile, you may remember very similar “leaked” CG images of the next generation MINI. All it too was a few minutes of investigating before we realized that they simply photoshopped a previous interior image and passed it off as a the unreleased car. We even went straight to the source at MINI who would know such things, Head of MINI Design Gert Hildebrand, and asked him about the renderings. His immediate response was that they are nothing from his team and their studio.

So with that track record we can’t help but be a little skeptical. Now with that said they are interesting and we do like the BMW CS Concept inspired look. But we also can’t help but notice a few discrepancies. For starters the car looks noticeably smaller than we’d expect. There is little rear overhang and even the mirrors are smaller than the current cars (which were recently made larger due to European Union regulations).

Based on everything we’d have to say the front renderings is slightly more believable but even that seems a little far fetched as the face of BMW’s new top selling product. You’d expect a little more conservatism when it comes to the bread and butter than is the 3 Series. At the end of the day we believe these are fakes.

But let’s hear your thoughts. Fake or real? Sound off below…