Opel's Fight against Prototype Paparazzi with Camouflage and Disguise

Fishies, Flimmies and the art of misdirection

Rüsselsheim, 2008-04-23 -- Camouflage and disguise are all important when new model prototypes first leave the well-protected confines of the design studio or workshop and head out onto the test track or open road. Although a great deal of today’s vehicle proving can be conducted in advance by computer simulation or on the test bench, there inevitably comes the day when all test results have to be validated, and the car must be released into its natural habitat – the road.

Camouflaged Opel Insignia during track testing at Dudenhofen Test Center

Two years ago, it was the Insignia’s turn, Opel’s new mid-size class car that makes its world premiere on July 22. It was its first test drive on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife – a day that camouflage experts at Opel had been meticulously preparing for months. With a highly attractive, completely new body line and sculptural design, the Vectra’s successor is set to cause a sensation in the mid-size class – but surprises only work if they are not revealed beforehand.

The team responsible for camouflaging prototypes began making their preparations for the test phase when the new car was still just computer simulations and clay models. Together with chief designers and engineers, the team established which of the car’s characteristic lines should be kept hidden the longest from prototype paparazzi.

Together, they developed a “facelift” for the upcoming model that would disguise the prototypes as optimally as possible. One of the variants had an especially elegantly flowing rear section, for instance, so a pronounced spoiler was designed to mask it. A wooden model was built as a cast to form the plastic camouflage parts needed for the up to
200 test cars that have to be disguised in the run-up to series production.

Covers for other characteristic body components were also designed and produced using the same process. As always, the first prototypes were brought to a workshop in a particularly well protected area of the plant to be disguised as the initial test cars.

First “facelift” should make Insignia as ugly as possible

For this part of the camouflage operation, experts use special adhesive and foil, which ensures a smooth surface and remains flexible and tearproof at temperatures ranging from minus 40 to plus 70 degrees Celsius. In other areas, the foil is shimmed with foam to change the car’s contours. This adhesive material is also used to camouflage characteristic window lines. The German police use this type of foil to mark their patrol cars – albeit in green and blue in Germany, not test-car black.

Small, highly contrasting covers are fitted to obscure other prototype body surfaces. For years, the practice at Opel was to use a black and white chessboard pattern, but this has now been replaced by “Fishies”, rounded, fish-shaped diamonds designed to confuse camera lenses and spying eyes. This disguising job will soon be done even better by Flimmies, a new type of camouflage whose pattern creates a flickering effect.

If it has an Opel logo, it’s definitely not an Opel

Fixing false brand and identification marks to prototypes is a popular trick in the camouflage business. So a test car with an Opel-like logo and GG license plates (the license plate code for Groß-Gerau and Rüsselsheim in Germany) is most probably not an Opel.

Headlamps and rear lights are especially difficult to disguise as vehicle licensing authorities stipulate that a car’s – even a prototype’s – cone of light, brake lights and all other exterior functions must meet legal regulations. Unfortunately, headlamps and rear lights are a popular means for designers to make the cars’ brand easily recognizable, and therefore must be well disguised. To do this, camouflage experts fit simple, round lights from an accessories shop to the rear of the car, and make special components for the headlamps.

Another challenge for camouflage experts is that disguising elements also need to be removable. For certain tests, such as acoustics or aerodynamics, any body styling parts are a hindrance, regardless of security. That’s why some automakers favor large wraparound covers that can be attached to the car’s body with Velcro and lashing belts. Opel opted for a different approach, as such large covers can come loose at high speeds, damaging the camouflage and endangering other road users.

Biggest obstacle in a perfect camouflage operation? People

The biggest weak spot of all camouflage operations is the technicians associated with the test car. Wherever people are involved, there is a risk of a mistake, and at the end of a long, arduous day in the workshops, there is always a chance that the camouflage will not be attached correctly.

To best avoid such slip-ups by test drivers or engineers, Opel has a strict set of rules concerning prototypes. Rule 531 states that no camouflaged test car may stop in a public place, for instance while the driver has a quick snack. A tarpaulin must also always be on board, as even reliable Opels sometimes breakdown during their test phase and must then be quickly covered over. To protect plant secrets, prototypes are always accompanied by a second car on public roads, so help is always at hand if needed. Over long distances prototypes have to be transported in closed trucks, such as for test driving in Finland. In the past, resourceful photographers would all too often quickly lift up the truck’s tarpaulin and snap some shots while the driver was taking a well-deserved break.

But why such an effort? In short, the automobile industry lives and breathes new cars, and this is of great interest to two particular groups: competitors and the media. While competitors want to react to new products as quickly as possible with their own innovations, for the media, the news of any new innovations is a valuable means of attracting readers or viewers.

One of the most important characteristic of a new car is its exterior design. It is the customers’ first impression of the car, it defines a brand’s appearance for the public, and often lets judgments be made about what possible technological innovations are concealed beneath the bodywork. That’s why shielding new body stylings from prying eyes has become an art form within automaker’s development departments over the past decades.

Prototype paparazzi: The nemesis of camouflage experts

The principal opponent of camouflage experts are specialist photographers called prototype hunters, or simply photo spies. The prototype paparazzi have a very good idea where the automobile industry’s preferred test circuits are located around the world.

These photographers face increasing competition from amateurs who happen to capture an unknown car on their camera phones. Or then again maybe not, as some pictures that land on editors’ desks are of series-production models that are only unusual because they are not for sale in the photographer’s country, and therefore seem exotic or mysterious.

Professional photographs, on the other hand, can command five-figure sums, depending on brand, timing and image quality, and are the main income of a small, but highly specialized group known as ‘Photoshoppers’. In the past, trained designers artistically adapted photos of camouflage cars with crayons and India ink to form often very accurate images of the latest innovations. Nowadays, it is Photoshop touch-up artists who try to create realistic images of these new models. To help them, they have prototype photographs and design concept cars, which automakers use to test public reaction at motor shows, and also to stir up anticipation of future series-production vehicles.

Prototype protectors would dearly love to camouflage these concept cars too, but they’re just not allowed to...

View more images in the 2009 Opel Insignia Photo Gallery.

Source: Opel

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