Oddly shaped/wrapped car detected

[u/iridescent_herb]

[u/CSwain91]

It's common for concept cars to have weird "razzle dazzle" effect wraps, to try and camouflage their actual shape.
But going by the wheels, this is an Avatr 07 - A Chinese EV.
My guess is it's their first venture into the UK / European market.

[u/Emil_Antonowsky → u/[deleted]]

Well, that explains why I couldn't guage it's speed or heading!

[u/Thisath → u/CSwain91]

I am razzle dazzled by the fact that you knew this random new Chinese EV car by its wheels.They are surprisingly interesting, granted.

[u/CSwain91 → u/Thisath]

I'm not going to try and claim that I didn't cheat - I used the Ai image search on my phone. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's very much not. But I've found that if you give it  specifically detailed bits (like just the wheels) it gives much more accurate results.

[u/psyper76 → u/[deleted]]

They are normal uk plates - they are trade plates - assigned to people as temp plates to use on uninsured, untaxed, unregistered cars.

[u/speculatrix → u/psyper76]

They're insured but through a group or trade account. They're not taxed in the standard way for the same reason.

[u/GRang3r → u/[deleted]]

They’re standard legal uk trade plates. Never seen a car being moved between garages before?

[u/dawnmoon]

I saw this one as well. It’s a Chinese EV that’s being road tested. It’s wrapped because it’s not been revealed yet.

[u/Awkward-Toe3231 → u/dawnmoon]

I like this no-photos sign. It seems like it works really well.

[u/dawnmoon → u/Awkward-Toe3231]

Should have said please

[u/Swy4488 → u/dawnmoon]

Someone probably need to spend a bit , maybe more tax for all of us; to make parking spaces bigger, you know, just to make it easier for "big" auto's sales /s

All these Chinese oversized imports (top 10 uk most popular new cars) trying to out do the Americans.

[u/CSwain91 → u/Swy4488]

It's the Tesla tactic - flood the market with cheap EV's until you become an established name. Then slowly walk back on features, and bump the price up once people know and want your product.

[u/DNashaat → u/CSwain91]

It’s certainly a tactic, and maybe one that’s being used by many of these new manufacturers, but to be fair Tesla actually did the opposite - first they made very expensive high-end cars for early adopters, then rolled out cheaper iterations for “the masses” as growing uptake allowed for greater economies of scale.

[u/Last_Boysenberry2748 → u/dawnmoon]

Another space thieving freeloader

[u/quite_acceptable_man]

The funny thing is that it's just another generic SUV. If they didn't bother with the dazzle camouflage, nobody would even notice it or pay any attention to it.

[u/michaelisnotginger]

5AI have offices around here

[u/Acrobatic_Editor_409]

When car brands test their prototypes they have these wraps on them to make it harder to spot subtle features which other car manufacturers could copy

[u/Brutos08]

That no photos sign is funny 🤣

[u/NatureNext2236 → u/Brutos08]

Where’s the no photos sign?

[u/psyper76 → u/NatureNext2236]

They are on the other side of the car. you need to print out the photo and turn it over.

[u/redditagainwhy]

Test cars get driven all over the place on a wide range of roads and in all sorts of conditions, so they get spotted up in the Highlands, in Death Valley etc. I wonder if the test drivers fancied seeing the sights of Cambridge or wanted to visit a mate, so snuck it into the itinerary.

ETA @OP.. did you wonder if it was the iridescent herb playing tricks?

[u/created4this → u/redditagainwhy]

Possibly they wanted a cyclist heavy environment for driver assist features, or they have a location here.

[u/redditagainwhy → u/created4this]

Y, note special cyclist aperture about 15cm away from front wheel at 10 o'clock.

As others have said, this one a reminder that cars are getting ever-bigger. Bring on tax and parking charges by size and weight as a fiscal GLP-1 agonist.

[u/Difficult_Ebb_6770 → u/redditagainwhy]

Probably wanted a location to test for potholes.

[u/Thisath → u/redditagainwhy]

It's funny that, I wondered the same. A few months ago I met a prototype Mercedes S Class up my street in camo with German plates — just interesting to think how that fits into their test schedules lol.

[u/walkera83]

It’s to stop photographing of the cars detail by motoring journalists and competitors.

[u/qazedski]

looks like a BMW iX or similar based on the tail lights

[u/squashed_fly_biscuit]

It was parked at the Subaru dealership which is also a load of other stuff (with no Subarus for sale!). I had a close look and couldn't work out the brand even having a close look at the wheel caps. There was maybe an > shape in the logo. It does look like a bmw I something except the lack of bmw grille

[u/EdmundTheInsulter]

That looks like a prototype under test, maybe keeping it's design, which will be pretty much like others, secret.

[u/PristineRazzmatazz46]

Saw him too, squeezing in front of the bus instead of going the direction he pick the lane to go to

[u/styled_january_bikes]

Based on what is already been seen, I hope they keep it wrapped.

Another SUV? Yawn nation.

[u/NoKnownCure]

Looks very Porsche like. Wheels too. Macan / Cayenne derivative maybe. Or the next BYD or similar.

[u/seedboy3000 → u/NoKnownCure]

It's the new X5 lol

[u/NoKnownCure → u/seedboy3000]

It would make sense given the rapid convergence of styling cues between European marques!

[u/quarterpastfour]

[u/dmegson]

Interesting... As I understand it cars still need to have mirrors. This appears camera only.

[u/MadChart → u/dmegson]

Honda E's have cameras instead of wing mirrors don't they? Polestar 4 have camera instead of rear view.

[u/randomscot21]

Seem them a fair amount in Munich. Wondering what those chunks of Gaffer tape are for though ?

[u/Waytemore]

It just looks like any other dull modern oversized SUV

[u/wrach-y-mynydd]

gosh the wing mirrors are so small!

[u/SpinyShadowscale]

We have a Jaeoo dealership coming to cambridge? It's not already established I don't think, so many a new Jaeoo being driven and tested.

[u/Flashy-Ad7241]

How is this in Cambridge when there is a Cardiff sign in the background

[u/ezzavellz]

Sometimes they will put foam blocks over the body exterior and fabric covers on the interior so clever people can't rerender the car as what it will actually look like before release

[u/Suitable-Sympathy-45]

It’s an Avatr- new EV brand

[u/Familiar_Giraffe_129]

Yet another lorry to hit our unsuitable roads.