If you read SlashDot's Darwin 1.0 post, you'll see a short comment claiming:
Apple actually purchased 30-40 Intel boxes from a custom computer retail outfit in Iowa with some suggested intentions of creating some sort of direct competition with Windoze. Sounds interesting to me.
Anonymous posts on public bulletin boards are not the most reliable sources of information... but hey, we're not called "MacFacts", now are we. :)
Actually, this rings a bell of an old rumor a while back, but I can't recall it outright. Anyway, seems everyone is eager for Apple to create Mac OS X for Intel, considering the slew of speculative articles released after Darwin was compiled on Intel.