Development mule

Short description: Prototype vehicle for testing

Porsche 918 Spyder development mule in Monaco

A camouflaged pre-production BMW X5 mule near Munich in October 2013

Honda Civic mules at Badwater Basin

A development mule, also known as test mule or simply mule, in the Automotive industry is a testbed vehicle equipped with prototype components requiring evaluation. They are often camouflaged to cover their designs.

## Contents

* 1 Application
* 2 See also
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## Application

Mules are necessary because automakers must assess new aspects of vehicles for both strengths and weaknesses before production. Mules are drivable, sometimes pre-production vehicles often years away from realization and coming after a concept car that preceded the design of critical mechanical components. A mule or engineering development is not the same as a preproduction car because changes are made constantly as the vehicle goes through the engineering development process.[1]

Some mules are built to function as test beds for entry into new market segments such as the mid-engined test mules developed in Italy and Germany for American Motors Corporation (AMC).[2] Surviving examples of these mules are unique.[3] Manufacturers also explore different solutions such as developing an "Urban Concept" car where not only a rotary engine and front-wheel-drive were considered for a small car, but "the first mule was made by cutting down a Matador by 30 in (762 mm) in front and back."[4] Mules using modified existing cars may also be used as a development tool to simulate battery-powered vehicles by incorporating their weight, mass distribution, and suspension to evaluate ride and handling.[5]

Mules may also have advanced chassis and powertrain designs from a prospective vehicle that need testing, which can be effectively concealed in the body and interior of a similarly sized production model.[6][7] In some cases, a completely unrelated vehicle is adapted to hide the powertrain and other mechanicals being tested. Ford used a Transit van that was modified with a mid-mounted Jaguar XJ220 engine and it had candy wrappers and tabloids on the dashboard to make it look like a regular work vehicle.[8]

If no comparable vehicle is available in-house or an external benchmark is being used mules may be based on another manufacturer's model. For example, in the 1970s the new powertrain package of first-generation Ford Fiesta was developed using mules based on the then class-leading Fiat 127, as Ford had no comparable compact model of similar size to utilize.[9]

Mules are also used to conceal styling changes and visible telltales of performance alterations in near-production vehicles, receiving varying degrees of camouflage to deceive rival makers and thwart a curious automotive press. Such alterations can span from distracting shrinkwrap designs, somewhat reminiscent of dazzle camouflage, to substituting crude cylindric shapes for taillights, non-standard wheels, or assemblages of plastic and tape to hide a vehicle's shape and design elements.[10] The wraps may also serve as part of marketing techniques to promote future car reveals.[11]

Development mules are often used very heavily during testing and scrapped.[12] Automakers also use auto racing and develop components for race cars that serve as development mules for their performance parts, such as AMC’s "Group 19" program.[13][14][15]

Occasionally, mule vehicles are acquired by members of the automaker's engineering team or executives overseeing the design process.[16][17] In some cases, the test mules may be evaluated as being better than the final products.[18]

## See also

* Automotive design
* Pre-production car
* Vehicle glider
* Clay modeling

## References

1. ↑ Lamm, Michael (July 1983). "PM First Hand Report: Dodge Daytona". Popular Mechanics 160 (1): 88. https://books.google.com/books?id=oNgDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Development+mule+car&pg=PA88. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
2. ↑ Chin, Chris (27 November 2019). "First-Ever AMC AMX/3 Prototype Bound for Restoration After Sitting for Nearly 50 Years". The Drive. https://www.thedrive.com/news/31204/first-ever-amc-amx-3-prototype-bound-for-restoration-after-sitting-for-nearly-50-years.
3. ↑ Perez, Jeff (26 December 2016). "This AMX/3 could be the most expensive AMC ever sold". Motor1. https://www.motor1.com/news/132251/most-expensive-amc-auction/.
4. ↑ Niedermeyer, Paul (2 November 2022). "Vintage R&T Technical Analysis: AMC's New Pacer – As Short As A Pinto; As Wide As A Chevelle". Curbside Classic. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/vintage-reviews/vintage-rt-technical-analysis-amcs-new-pacer/.
5. ↑ Near-term Electric Vehicle Program. Department of Energy. 1978. p. 13. https://books.google.com/books?id=ebXrAWSed1AC&dq=Development+mule+car&pg=PP13. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
6. ↑ Healey, James R. (1 May 2009). "Drivers could get a charge out of Chevrolet Volt". USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/reviews/healey/2009-04-30-chevrolet-volt-early-look_N.htm.
7. ↑ McCraw, Jim (September 1992). "Sneak Previews of U.S. Cars to Come". Popular Science 241 (3): 68–72. https://books.google.com/books?id=lwEAAAAAMBAJ&dq="Development+mule"+auto&pg=PA69. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
8. ↑ Demuro, Doug (5 November 2018). "The Jaguar XJ220 Development Mule Was a Ford Van". Autotrader. https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/jaguar-xj220-development-mule-was-ford-van-281474979894068.
9. ↑ "Fiesta is a worthy UK record breaker". 8 November 2014. https://www.worksopguardian.co.uk/lifestyle/fiesta-is-a-worthy-uk-record-breaker-2258964.
10. ↑ Dunne, Jim (December 1991). "Detroit Spy Report". Popular Mechanics 168 (12): 108. https://books.google.com/books?id=puMDAAAAMBAJ&dq="Development+mule"+auto&pg=PA108. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
11. ↑ "Maserati's New Supercar Mule Teases New Powertrain". MoparInsiders. 23 November 2019. https://moparinsiders.com/maseratis-new-supercar-mule-teases-new-powertrain/.
12. ↑ For example, "...pushed the development mule to 150.583 mph (242.340 km/h)..." Schorr, Martyn L. (March 1993). "Show of Force". Popular Mechanics 180 (3): 59. https://books.google.com/books?id=c88DAAAAMBAJ&dq="Development+mule"&pg=PA56. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
13. ↑ McClurg, Bob (20 March 2017). "6-Year Restoration Resurrects AMC's First Super Stock Drag Race Car, Topel's 1967 Rambler Rebel". Tamrazs. https://tamrazs.wordpress.com/2017/03/20/6-year-restoration-resurrects-amcs-first-super-stock-drag-race-car-topels-1967-rambler-rebel/.
14. ↑ Tom, David (2013). The cars of Trans-Am racing: 1966-1972. North Branch, MN: CarTech. p. 153. ISBN 9781613250518.
15. ↑ Eisenschenk, Wes (15 March 2016). Lost Muscle Cars. CarTech. p. 47. ISBN 9781613252253. https://books.google.com/books?id=P86MCwAAQBAJ&dq=mule+car+Group+19&pg=PA47. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
16. ↑ Truesdell, Richard. "John Goergen's 1966 343 prototype". Musclecar Enthusiast: 59. http://photos.imageevent.com/mmm_mag/pdffiles/USA 1967 AMC Rogue 343 Musclecar Enthusiast.pdf. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
17. ↑ "1966 Drivable AMX Prototype". 5 July 2007. http://route66rambler.com/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=136/1966_drivable_amx.
18. ↑ Silvestro, Brian (5 March 2018). "Nine of the Coolest Test Mules". Road & Track. https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/g19087332/coolest-test-mules/.

## External links

Media related to Development mules at Wikimedia Commons

* "How does Renault work to develop the car of the future? A mule story! - Renault Group". Renault Group. 11 July 2017. https://www.renaultgroup.com/en/news-on-air/news/how-does-renault-work-to-develop-the-car-of-the-future-a-mule-story/.
* "Prototypes and Mules". Italdesign. https://www.italdesign.it/services-assembly-and-construction/prototypes-and-mules/.

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