The most confusing day of the year for news is over: April 1 has come and gone, and with it came several great April Fools jokes. Here are our favorites.
Wrongly believing information on the internet can happen to the best of us, but April 1 is a prime candidate for this. Every year, plenty of news outlets, companies and individuals come up with April Fools jokes, some more elaborate than others. Even we had a bit of fun with our (obviously not very serious) article on the FIA's plans to ban and regulate swearing in sim racing.
There have been countless other jokes that made the rounds to start April 2025. Some of them were somewhat believable, others were obvious jests that still made us chuckle quite a bit. So we decided to list some of our favorites - those that we managed to find, anyway, as there were probably plenty more out there.
The BMW M3 GT3 EVO may be running successfully in series all over the world, but if you were to believe the Bavarian car maker on April 1, it would soon be replaced by another version - namely the estate variant of the M3. Dubbed 'M3 Touring GT3 EVO', it would be the first GT3 car based on this shape - "the BMW M3 Touring is the perfect M model for long distances. Now, it is ready to prove these properties as a new BMW M Motorsport GT car on race tracks around the globe", reasoned BMW.
Image: BMW M
The other model to rank highly on the "yeah, right" scale presented is the M2 Dakar - an offroad version of the M2. Known to sim racers in its M2 CS Racing guise, the car would supposedly be modified to tackle desert-based racing, including a roof rack, additional lights and higher suspension.
More images of both cars (as well as confirmation that it was indeed just a joke) can be found on the BMW M website.
MOZA even included specs that are absolutely relevant to any toaster and most definitely do not poke fun about how obsessed sim racers sometimes are with numbers. The toaster supposedly features "10Nm of torque per slice, HALL effect browning sensors and a 1000Hz polling rate for the perfect crunch". Brilliant.
So the French marque planning to return using its 9X8 Hypercar as a base would not seem out of the question, especially since Loeb's record-breaking 2013 car featured elements of the 908 LMP1 car, such as the rear wing.
A prominent rear wing is also the standout element on the Pikes-Peakified version of the 9X8, although that looks more like it was borrowed from the 905 Evo2 Group C car from 1992. We'd file this one under 'slightly ridiculous, but actually outstandingly cool if it happened for real'.
Fanatec joined in on the fun with the claim that Doom would now also run on all its wheels that feature a display. To demonstrate this, they naturally chose the tiny screen on the Formula V2.5X wheel rim. If the fact that the game ran in full color on the black-and-white screen did not give the joke away, maybe the missing link that was supposed to be provided did.
Either way, we are almost certain that there is someone out there who can actually make this work, or has even done so already. If so, please reach out if you read this!
They were all supposed to launch with the next update, but considering the date of the post, it was clear that this was not a real thing. Although we cannot help but have that little thought in the back of our minds that keeps telling us that it would actually be kind of fun to have something like this. Even the air freshener would have been a nice touch - which segues nicely to our next entry, actually.
Of course, this was also not real, but we cannot help but wonder what the three different scents - Monza Breeze, Eau de Spa and Nürburgring Green - would have smelled like, and if they indeed would have added a nice freshness to our sim rigs.
Bonus points for the preorder link leading to the OIIA Cat X Gangnam Style video on YouTube!
A stalwart in toddlers' automotive careers around the world, the Cozy Coupe was even supposed to come with a list of features found on no other iRacing car, such as "a handle on the back for parent-controlled push rides", "a moving ignition switch for (pretend) startups", and "a gas cap that opens and closes for imaginary refuels".
Without an engine, it would not have gone very far on most iRacing tracks, but the thought of 20 of them barrelling down the Fuchsröhre at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife or the section after Skyline at Bathurst has us chuckling more than it probably should.
Instead of its usual green and black design, the C45 was supposedly to rock up to the grid sporting a beef-based livery. Steak F1, if you will. The mostly red design looked like the marbled texture of a piece of beef, fittingly pointed out to be Wagyu by the initial post. The 'Stake House' sign in the presentation video is a nice touch, too.
Other good jokes included the one posted by racing news outlet onlyendurance.com stating that from 2026 onwards, the Le Mans Bugatti circuit would be used instead of the traditional track for the 24-hour race, citing concerns of locals about the road closures every June.
Meanwhile, The Race jumped in with a take on the flexi wing debate in F1, stating that teams would have to remove the front and rear wings of their cars in an attempt to prevent them from taking any liberties with the aero appendages flexibility.
Finally, Reiza Studios announced it would take to the skies soon, with a new game mode focusing on "air sports" supposedly on its way for Automobilista 2. A very short teaser showed a helicopter cockpit and Interlagos from the air as if the chopper was approaching the track towards Reta Oposta, right where the karting track (that is also partially visible) is located).
What was your favorite April Fools joke from the world of motorsport and sim racing? Let us know in the comments below!
Wrongly believing information on the internet can happen to the best of us, but April 1 is a prime candidate for this. Every year, plenty of news outlets, companies and individuals come up with April Fools jokes, some more elaborate than others. Even we had a bit of fun with our (obviously not very serious) article on the FIA's plans to ban and regulate swearing in sim racing.
There have been countless other jokes that made the rounds to start April 2025. Some of them were somewhat believable, others were obvious jests that still made us chuckle quite a bit. So we decided to list some of our favorites - those that we managed to find, anyway, as there were probably plenty more out there.
BMW's M3 Touring GT3 EVO & M2 Dakar
Starting off with an entry based in real racing, BMW showed not one, but two renders of, shall we say improbable race cars that were supposedly being developed.The BMW M3 GT3 EVO may be running successfully in series all over the world, but if you were to believe the Bavarian car maker on April 1, it would soon be replaced by another version - namely the estate variant of the M3. Dubbed 'M3 Touring GT3 EVO', it would be the first GT3 car based on this shape - "the BMW M3 Touring is the perfect M model for long distances. Now, it is ready to prove these properties as a new BMW M Motorsport GT car on race tracks around the globe", reasoned BMW.
Image: BMW M
The other model to rank highly on the "yeah, right" scale presented is the M2 Dakar - an offroad version of the M2. Known to sim racers in its M2 CS Racing guise, the car would supposedly be modified to tackle desert-based racing, including a roof rack, additional lights and higher suspension.
More images of both cars (as well as confirmation that it was indeed just a joke) can be found on the BMW M website.
MOZA Direct Drive Toaster
Hardware manufacturer MOZA Racing opted for an obvious joke, but that did not make it any less hilarious, in our opinion. Presenting the world's first Direct Drive toaster and adding the reminder to please not put bread in your wheel bases, the little black bread roasting machine actually looks pretty sleek in its render.MOZA even included specs that are absolutely relevant to any toaster and most definitely do not poke fun about how obsessed sim racers sometimes are with numbers. The toaster supposedly features "10Nm of torque per slice, HALL effect browning sensors and a 1000Hz polling rate for the perfect crunch". Brilliant.
Peugeot 9X8 Pikes Peak
Peugeot and Pikes Peak - a combination with a fair bit of history. Ari Vatanen won the legendary hillclimb in a 405 Turbo 16 in 1988, and perhaps most notably, Sebastién Loeb raced up the mountain in the fairly ridiculous 208 T 16 Pikes Peak in 2013.So the French marque planning to return using its 9X8 Hypercar as a base would not seem out of the question, especially since Loeb's record-breaking 2013 car featured elements of the 908 LMP1 car, such as the rear wing.
A prominent rear wing is also the standout element on the Pikes-Peakified version of the 9X8, although that looks more like it was borrowed from the 905 Evo2 Group C car from 1992. We'd file this one under 'slightly ridiculous, but actually outstandingly cool if it happened for real'.
Fanatec Wheels Run Doom
It's a fairly well-known meme in the gaming sphere: Doom runs on everything. There is even an entire subreddit dedicated to it, and notable examples of the 1993 cult classic on devices that were never meant to play it include digital picture frames, a credit card reader, and even a pregnancy test - basically anything with a screen.Fanatec joined in on the fun with the claim that Doom would now also run on all its wheels that feature a display. To demonstrate this, they naturally chose the tiny screen on the Formula V2.5X wheel rim. If the fact that the game ran in full color on the black-and-white screen did not give the joke away, maybe the missing link that was supposed to be provided did.
Either way, we are almost certain that there is someone out there who can actually make this work, or has even done so already. If so, please reach out if you read this!
Cockpit Customization Items In RaceRoom
Have you ever gotten bored of the same old race car interior? RaceRoom seemingly wanted to help with that, offering several options to make your bare-bones race car cockpit feel more like home. How about a pink steering wheel cover? Some fuzzy dice for your rear view mirror? A Tim Heinemann bobblehead maybe?They were all supposed to launch with the next update, but considering the date of the post, it was clear that this was not a real thing. Although we cannot help but have that little thought in the back of our minds that keeps telling us that it would actually be kind of fun to have something like this. Even the air freshener would have been a nice touch - which segues nicely to our next entry, actually.
Thrustmaster T5MELL
A few years ago, Fanatec promoted its Podium Aroma Bar for April Fools, and Thrustmaster looked into something similar for 2025. The result: A Little Tree-inspired air freshener called T5MELL. Supposedly designed "specificially for sim racing", its tagline was "Banish the Funk - Keep the Speed".Of course, this was also not real, but we cannot help but wonder what the three different scents - Monza Breeze, Eau de Spa and Nürburgring Green - would have smelled like, and if they indeed would have added a nice freshness to our sim rigs.
Bonus points for the preorder link leading to the OIIA Cat X Gangnam Style video on YouTube!
iRacing Scans The Little Tikes Car
Quick, what is the perfect beginner car in sim racing? A Mazda MX5? The BMW M2 CS Racing maybe? How about going back to the most basic of basics? That's probably what iRacing thought when they announced that they have scanned the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.A stalwart in toddlers' automotive careers around the world, the Cozy Coupe was even supposed to come with a list of features found on no other iRacing car, such as "a handle on the back for parent-controlled push rides", "a moving ignition switch for (pretend) startups", and "a gas cap that opens and closes for imaginary refuels".
Without an engine, it would not have gone very far on most iRacing tracks, but the thought of 20 of them barrelling down the Fuchsröhre at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife or the section after Skyline at Bathurst has us chuckling more than it probably should.
Steak F1 Team KICK Sauber
No, that's not a typo. With the Japanese Grand Prix coming up, the Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber switched things up with a play on the 'Stake' part of its name. While teams like Red Bull are actually running special liveries for Suzuka, the one for the team formerly known as just Sauber is simply an April Fools joke.Instead of its usual green and black design, the C45 was supposedly to rock up to the grid sporting a beef-based livery. Steak F1, if you will. The mostly red design looked like the marbled texture of a piece of beef, fittingly pointed out to be Wagyu by the initial post. The 'Stake House' sign in the presentation video is a nice touch, too.
Honorable Mentions
Of course, there were plenty more April Fools jokes out there, and mentioning them all would be impossible. We are certain that we missed some, too - feel free to add them in the comments!Other good jokes included the one posted by racing news outlet onlyendurance.com stating that from 2026 onwards, the Le Mans Bugatti circuit would be used instead of the traditional track for the 24-hour race, citing concerns of locals about the road closures every June.
Meanwhile, The Race jumped in with a take on the flexi wing debate in F1, stating that teams would have to remove the front and rear wings of their cars in an attempt to prevent them from taking any liberties with the aero appendages flexibility.
Finally, Reiza Studios announced it would take to the skies soon, with a new game mode focusing on "air sports" supposedly on its way for Automobilista 2. A very short teaser showed a helicopter cockpit and Interlagos from the air as if the chopper was approaching the track towards Reta Oposta, right where the karting track (that is also partially visible) is located).
What was your favorite April Fools joke from the world of motorsport and sim racing? Let us know in the comments below!
