BMW seems to have a thing with releasing much awaited models that are halfway complete covered in camouflage as a sort of partial unveiling, effectively confirming the car's existence, leaving fans on the edge about the hidden details, and dragging out the reveal process for publicity similar to how Dodge did with the Demon. The upcoming M8 that fans have been lusting after ever since the original 8 Series was produced in 1989 got "unveiled" that way, and prior to that there's the F90 M5.

It seems that every detail to be known about the F90 M5 is already known, and artists from around the web (including our own in-house maestro) have given the F90 M5 rendering a crack using the G30 5 Series as a base, a dash of imagination, and quite possibly the help of leaked CAD models of the front and rear portions of the car. This time around, the leak, whether intentional or not, comes from a trailer for the video game Need For Speed Payback, the cover of which seems to show a 5 Series bearing a more aggressive front end than the G30 and wearing a signature M logo on its kidney grille. Further signs that BMW fully intended this "reveal" come from a post on BMW M's Facebook page.

The post depicts the side of the BMW 5 Series wearing a clear M5 badge on its fender and looking about as mean as you'd expect it to look. Posted alongside it was a caption promoting both the game and the upcoming Mercedes-AMG E63 S beater. Nothing out of the ordinary here because all cool cars get revealed on video games nowadays, just look towards the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo that was the star of Gran Turismo 6 for proof. With all of the M5's cards on the table, it would appear that BMW has nothing interesting left to reveal without showing off the car in full. We like what we see so far, especially because BMW seems to be keeping the design on the quieter side, lending it some sleeper persona.

Expect a full reveal to happen any day now. With the direction AMG is going with its pace of reveals and the way BMW is placing renewed emphasis on the M Performance parts catalogue, it's reasonable to imagine German automakers revealing their high-powered models earlier in order to cash in on the horsepower mania.