Spoiler suits for Territory, Ranger

Ford's pioneering use of skin-tight lycra conceals skin-deep aesthetics
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The 2011 Territory remains incognito, but the material used to confound spy photographers has been revealed. It's lycra.

The lightweight synthetic material is usually associated with cyclists' apparel, but Ford Australia also employs the stretchable fabric as a means of disguising the finer points of its new models in testing. Ford first began using the material for the FG Falcon during the car's development phase in 2007 and 2008.

Lycra isn't the only material used, but has found favour with the Ford development team locally because will fit different shapes and sizes of panels while providing easy access to external parts such as fuel filler caps, bonnet, doors and windows.

Other materials used to camouflage vehicles under test include vinyl, foam, fibreglass and vacuum-formed plastic. Ford often recycles these materials also, thus saving money from the development budget. The problem with disguising pre-production vehicles is that the camouflage inevitably draws more attention to the vehicle than might be the case if the car were to remain undisguised, a point made by the company's program coordinator, Damian Lavric.

"These days most people have a camera phone so we have to be extra careful when we use public roads with a prototype," Lavric said.

"It is a difficult job because we want to keep driving vehicles in real-world conditions but we don't want to inhibit key vehicle functions at the same time, like engine cooling.

"It's ironic because we want to disguise the vehicles and hide all the details, but all the stickers and camouflage draw the attention we are trying to avoid."

Both the new Territory and the T6 Ranger have been seen in 'bra and panties' undergoing local testing, but it's actually the Ranger that has posed the greater challenge for the Ford staff building the prototypes, despite being revealed to the public at the Australian International Motor Show in October. It's a totally new design, unlike the Territory and it will sell in 180 markets. So the camouflage must be durable enough to cope with Middle Eastern and Australian summers on the one hand, and European winters on the other.

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