How secret prototypes are masked (camouflage and contour hiding)

When the automaker is preparing to release a new brand of car, first make a prototype. Before the official presentation to the public, the prototype is thoroughly tested in real conditions, at this stage the last changes are made to the design.

There is a real hunt behind the secret machine: hundreds of bloggers, journalists and fans are trying to find this car and take a picture of it in order to be the first to post on the Internet the photos of the secret news. Competitors are also not asleep, and carefully monitor new design elements before their official announcement (this is part of standard industrial espionage).

The company can not prevent information leaks before the official announcement. Therefore, they use cunning techniques. The prototype is always covered with a protective cover, while it is specially treated so that the shape under the cover cannot be determined. This is a very difficult and painstaking work , writes Wired. The process involves a computer graphics department and staff camouflage specialists.


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The photographs show how the 2010 Mercedes SLS was disguised before the official announcement. On top of the prototype under the cover, below - a real car. You can see the parts of the cover that distort the shape of the individual elements of the car (1, 2), completely hide the other elements (3, 4), as well as specially added distortions (except for point 5, you can find a few more). Convex surfaces are smoothed, often used protective paint cover from a military arsenal.