Eight automotive Easter eggs you might not have known existed

Easter eggs. Many people think that these treats are the sweet preserve of a certain mysterious bunny. While this may be true, they're also cunningly concealed messages, images or features hidden in everything from video games and computer programs right through to movies and comic books. There are also a growing number of them to be found in the automotive world with designers often sneaking their creative wares into models of all shape and stature. Here are eight to pique your growing curiosity ...

1: Beware the Opel sharks

Opel hopped onto the Easter egg bandwagon with the launch of its fourth-generation Corsa. Why? Well the story goes that Opel designer, Dietmar Finger, sat contemplating the finer details of the car's cubbyhole mechanism one Sunday when his young son came into his study and suggested, out of the blue, that he draw a shark. So he did.

He sketched one into the design of the cubbyhole and presented it to his boss who loved the idea and signed it off into final production. Since then Opel has hidden shark motifs in most of its new cars. So if you have one sitting in your driveway, well, happy hunting.

2: Jaguar E-Pace cub

The next time you see a Jaguar E-Pace parked out in the wild be sure to stop and take a closer look at its windscreen surround. On the bottom right corner you will see the silhouette of a Jaguar and its cub. Yeah, Easter eggs don't get cuter than this. If you climb inside the car you'll also discover jaguar print embossing on the inside of the centre console as well as on the seat tabs.

3: Jeep Renegade spider

When it comes to vehicular Easter eggs the Jeep Renegade packs more surprises than the actual Easter bunny. One of the easiest to spot is the friendly spider that greets you every time you flip open the fuel filler cap. There's a speech bubble above its head that reads “Ciao baby:” a hat-tip to Jeep's Italian parent automaker, Fiat. You'll also find a Sasquatch hiking up the rear windscreen surround plus many other interesting little bits and bobs.

See them all go watch this video put together by the crew at cars.com 

4: BMW i8, ahem, poops a Porsche 911

Though probably not intentional, the rear of the BMW i8 harbours one of the craziest Easter eggs you'll never be able to un-see. Take a good look at the area of apron directly beneath the badges and you'll see what looks like the back of a Porsche 991 peaking through the BMW's 'bowels.' Rude coincidence? Perhaps. Or maybe it was a cheeky subliminal message telling those who chose to see that the i8 could eat its Porsche rival for breakfast. Either way, we're sure that you'll never look at this BMW the same way again.

5: Renault Twingo pedals

Remember the Renault Twingo RS? Well this warm-hatch came equipped with a unique set of aluminium pedals in a bid to differentiate itself from its slower sibling. If you looked closely you'd notice that the face of the pedals had been embossed to mimic the classic pause, stop and play icons you find on stereo equipment. A simple but clever touch.

6: Tracking down the Lexus F-Sport logo

Sometimes secrets hide in plain sight. This is certainly the case with the Lexus F-Sport logo that is applied not only to the rumps of the Japanese marque's sportier models but also to their steering wheels. For what might appear to be just a stylised 'F' is actually a nod to Fuji Speedway: the circuit on which Lexus hones and develops all its performance vehicles. The curvature of the letter is identical to the curvature of the track's first corner.

7: Tesla Model X Holiday Light Show

Tesla is a company that dishes out its fair share of Easter eggs. Though with somebody like Elon Musk at the helm this isn't exactly surprising. There's a long list of them to be found online but for us the coolest has to be the holiday light show: a digital Easter egg that when activated by punching in a code makes the Model X perform a little jig. Words are wasted on describing it so push play on the video above and enjoy the ridiculousness.

8: Exhaust tailpipes of the Toyota 86 measure up

Here's one for the real car nerds. If you get out a tape measure and measure the inner diameter of one of the exhaust tailpipes on the Toyota 86 you'll get a reading of 86mm. What's the significance? Well it's a subtle reference to not just its name but also the bore and stroke measurements of its perfectly square 2.0-litre boxer engine: 86mm x 86mm.