How spyshots tell the future

Any new car that is being tested and is undisguised risks being uploaded to the mass of online spyshot sites and then being dissected. If your design wows the public, then you can expect your rivals to incorporate your hard-won design work into their models quickly. And any impact you may have worked for at launch will be severely lessened - the cat has already been let out of the bag.

Worse still, if the public hate it and the exterior design is not even finalised, you can expect negative headlines and derision in internet forums. Your car can be written off before it's even on the forecourt.

And if the car is a replacement for an existing model, an undisguised car can risk denting sales of a car maker's current stock as potential customers hold out for the new version.

Car makers then are obsessive about protecting their designs. Some disguise their cars in-house or in some cases even hire specialist companies to hide key design features. Their methods include the use of false headlights, tape, vinyl, plastic cladding and even bubble wrap.

Increasingly, crazy black-and-white patterned body wraps are being used that confuse and hide detailing from the human eye. Even convertibles can be given fake roofs to conceal their droptop charms.

So in-demand are spyshots that veteran spyshot photographer Jim Dunne has bought real estate next to Chrysler's Proving Ground in America.

Yet spotting a prototype for yourself can be easy if you're prepared to camp out in the right locations. The Nurburgring in Germany is famous for its torturous track and popular with car makers for bomb-proofing a car's handling capabilities.

With the motoring industry showing confidence in spite of the ongoing global recession, you can expect to see a lot of new cars online. Spyshots clutter up the internet and the specialist as we rush to see the latest and greatest that car makers have to offer.