In the highly competitive world of fast cars, sometimes the hottest picture is a snapshot showing little but the wheels.
But auto enthusiasts are so anxious to see what a new model will look like that websites and magazines will pay thousands of dollars for pictures of prototypes camouflaged with patches of fabric.
There’s a point when every prototype needs to be tested on outdoor tracks and city streets, and that’s where a small group of mostly independent spy photographers camp out.
Around since the late 1960s, spy photography remains a huge business in a highly competitive industry where timing is everything.
If editors are able to accurately identify masked vehicles, spy shots can influence buying decisions by telling consumers and car enthusiasts what new cars and trucks will look like. The published photos also tell car companies where a rival manufacturer is headed.
The March issue of Motor Trend magazine alone has at least 10 such photos, including what it says are the next-generation Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG, Toyota Tundra, Chrysler Sebring and Land Rover LR2, a new four-door Jeep Wrangler and an all-new offering called the Acura RDX.
In some photos, most of the car is covered up, while other pictures show the rear or front fascia or the side cladding covered in a black tarp.
Motor Trend Detroit Editor Todd Lassa, who selects many of the magazine’s spy shots, said he chooses from as many as 5 000 shots per year, including those from non-journalists who happen upon test cars.
“In the old days, we mostly used artists’ renderings of ‘future cars’ in our prognostications,” Lassa said. “These mainly came from descriptions of the new models from inside sources. Some were pretty good guesses at how the cars looked, while many were considerably far off.”
The industry has changed a lot since then. Cars are now tested year-round, though high season is in January, July and August.
Seeking to test their vehicles’ endurance in extreme temperatures, engineers steal away to such exotic locales as the Arctic Circle, Finland, the Middle East and Death Valley.
“Photographers converge on these places because the car companies converge there,” Lassa explained. “You can trip over them in Death Valley.”
Manufacturers frequently use racetracks such as Germany’s Nurburgring for testing and close them off to journalists. They also secretly test in wind tunnels.
Eventually, the covered cars are put on public streets for real-world driving. That’s when top photographers like Brenda Priddy go to work.
“Sometimes they’re parked, sometimes they’re going through a gas station or a fast-food restaurant,” said Priddy, who tries to keep her camera hidden until it is time to shoot.
“But they won’t have badges on them, so I don’t always know what they are. I can’t even tell from support vehicles, because the manufacturer could be doing comparison testing with other car brands. I just shoot them and find out later. It’s such an adrenaline rush. But sometimes we go weeks without seeing anything. We do a lot of research and surveillance.”
And it can be harrowing. Priddy said she once had a camera pushed in her face, and one test driver nearly ran over her young son in an attempt to get away.
More typically, support vehicles will attempt to block Priddy’s view.
Still, she says there are things she will not do, such as touch vehicles or chase them at high speeds. She also does not hide while shooting.
That’s because manufacturers know the photographers are around and often welcome the publicity, said Donald Buffamanti, CEO and founder of AutoSpies.com, which regularly posts spy photos.
“Isn’t it interesting that spy photographers keep seeing these cars in the same places year after year?” he said.
Indeed, Lassa said manufacturers have been known to plant test cars to influence other companies’ designs.
Wes Brown, an auto analyst at the Los Angeles-based market research firm Iceology, said spy photography is here to stay.
“There is a relatively decent-sized audience of enthusiasts interested in seeing what’s coming and knowing what’s coming out before it’s officially released,” he said.
“And with all these new forums and websites, maybe you’re not a subscriber to Car and Driver, but you do have access to the internet.” – AFP