The art of the reveal

The prospect of a new car debut might not set your heart racing, but manufacturers take them very seriously. CHARLIE MARTIN peers behind the scenes

- CHARLIE MARTIN

You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack; you may find yourself in another part of the world; you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile; and you may find yourself in a stuffy photo studio waiting for the reveal of a new car; and you may ask yourself: “How did I get here?”

No, you're not David Byrne, frontman of new wave group Talking Heads (for those who may have missed the lyrical reference), but a motoring journalist on a car launch. It’s 5.30am and your alarm is blaring from across the room. You're in a strange hotel somewhere on the outskirts of Paris, trying to will yourself into forward movement so that you have time to get some caffeine into your system before the shuttle bus takes you to the launch venue.

So how did you find yourself here? Well, behind every issue of Autocar lies a spreadsheet detailing every new car unveiling: what model it is, when and where the launch is taking place, who's going and when we're allowed to talk about it. Coordinating the news section of the magazine, website and social media feeds is a complex spider's web of organisation, ruled by those competent enough to distribute the boots-on-the-ground legwork of those such as myself.

For Autocar, the reveal is the static unveiling of a new model (either at a private preview or a public event); the launch is when we get to drive that model, and those come a while later.