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Despite General Motors’ attempts to keep the final shape of the production Chevy Volt secret, photos and video of the car leaked onto several websites overnight. The images come from the set of the upcoming film Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. GM has loaned many vehicles for feature roles in the film, including several which are not yet available for sale — leading automotive writers to pay close attention to the set of the film over the last six months.

The blog Transformers Live first revealed the pictures, displaying the top half of a Volt, with everything below the door handles obscured by plants. Autoblog Green commented that the shot had “the right greenhouse profile” to be the Volt, “and judging from the head and tail-lights it looks an awful lot like the teaser shots that GM has been releasing lately.”

Jalopnik reports that the production car differs somewhat from the concept. “The front of the greenhouse on the production Chevy Volt bears little resemblance to the concept, with smooth A-pillars, and a sweeping roof line. The side glass gets a more traditional, and actually quite appealing, shape.” The car is dark blue, but with a black roof. Its side mirrors are chrome. The rear of the car, however, “does remind us of the concept a lot, with a short rear deck, C-pillar and tail lights forming a small spoiler, and we can just make out the crisp, aerodynamically-inspired line running up the trailing edge of the rear fender.”

After the pictures leaked, Transformers Live posted a video offering a more revealing look at the car. The camera operator taking the video focused in on the rear badge for several seconds, leaving no doubt that the image in the video is a Volt.

What isn’t clear is what is powering the car on the movie set. Chevy is believed to be testing portions of the Volt’s powertrain, but it seems unlikely that the Transformers car features a full E-Flex propulsion system. The car may well be the body of the production Volt, but with a traditional gasoline-powered engine under the hood. Such a move would allow GM to get the car into the film before powertrain development is complete. GM has not yet commented on the leaked images.

To see these highly anticipated photos check out our Slideshow.

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