And we know this how? Because Land Rover has let everyone know, releasing four images of a test Discovery Sport with the vinyl wrap on the rear flanks 'peeled back' to reveal an artist's impression of the extra seats in the rear crumple zone. Best take a look at the pics for a better understanding.
Land Rover describes the third-row seat facility as an "option." The car snapped for the PR/marketing exercise was based at Halewood, where the production model will be built from next year. Along with the requisite press release and photos came words from the man who oversees the new SUV's design, Gerry McGovern. "As you would expect from a Discovery, the versatile Discovery Sport will feature optional 5+2 seating, offering spacious load space and configurable seating, while still retaining a more compact footprint than traditional 5-seat SUVs," said McGovern, who bears the title of Design Director and Chief Creative Officer for Land Rover.
So just to get this straight, the pre-production car remains camouflaged, but an important element of the new model's packaging is incorporated in the camouflage, since the world's spy photographers are clearly lacking the necessary competence to snap pics of the extra seats as the car whips past them at speed. And the only way the information about the seats was ever going to be publicised at the appropriate time – and we hate ourselves for being sucked in by this too – would be if Land Rover orchestrated it.
This is what happens when engineers and marketing professionals collude...