Oh dear, this can’t end well. Michael Bay is not famed for his subtlety, his strict adherence to character nuance nor his ability to film a scene without six explosions. Perfect fodder for a Top Gear audience, then.

These pictures, dear Internet, represent the first cars from the upcoming fourth installment to his Transformers franchise. It is snappily titled Transformers 4, and we’re told filming has begun at the Navajo Nation; specifically, Highway 163 in Monument Valley near the border of Arizona and Utah.

You’ll see that lead character Optimus Prime has had a facelift, and is “completely upgraded”. He’ll sit on a custom-built truck from Western Star, a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks. Then there’s Bumblebee, this time wrapped inside a “highly modified”, vintage 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS. Smashing.

You’ll find a couple of new boys on the block, too. First up is that luminous green Corvette Stingray, a special, race-inspired creation based on the upcoming 2014 production car. And then we find ourselves with a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse.

Remember we said this can’t end well? We meant for the Bugatti. This thing costs many millions of pounds to purchase, and Bay has a habit of, well, blowing everything in sight to smithereens. We can’t be sure even Michael Bay - the man who made a film called Armageddon for goodness sake - would leave this 255mph, 1200bhp roadster alone.

Only time will tell, so stay tuned for more updates as we get them. For now, have a stroll through the pics and then think of a suitable plot involving these four cars (all confirmed Autobots - the goodies).

Vijay Pattni

Pics via MichaelBay.com