Under the covers

Andreas Conradt, 35, is the owner of Automedia, a Hamburg company which distributes spy pictures and computer-generated images of upcoming cars to 125 newspapers, magazines and Websites in 46 countries.

"We have a network of freelance photographers in various countries who supply us with sneak pictures of the cars during testing," he said.

"Most of the cars are heavily disguised. The Jaguar certainly was. But we have a car designer who works from the images to generate pictures of what he thinks the production model will look like.

"He has good informants inside various car factories and is often close to the real thing.

"Of course, he sometimes makes mistakes. But he has been told that his image of the new Jaguar is so accurate it could almost be a leaked official picture."