A development mule or a test mule in the automotive industry

Automotive industry

The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....

 is a vehicle equipped with experimental or prototype

Prototype

A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...

 components for testing. Automaker

Automaker

The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....

s evaluate aspects of vehicles before a full pre-production car

Pre-production car

Pre-production cars are vehicles that allow the automaker to find problems before a new model goes on sale to the public. Pre-production cars come after prototypes, or development mules which themselves are preceded by concept cars...

 is built to find problems. Mule cars are drivable, often years ahead of actual production. They may come after concept car

Concept car

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

s that sometimes lack critical mechanical components. They may also have advanced chassis and powertrain designs from a future vehicle that need to be tested, but "clothed with the body and interior of some other car about the same size.

Mules are often heavily altered and the exteriors may be disguised as current production

Mass production

Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...

 vehicles or as completely different models. Some noticeable alterations include simple cylindric shapes for the lamps in the taillights, different rims on the front and back without centrecaps, and a severe amount of added plastic and tape to hide the actual shape and design of the vehicle.

Development mules are most often used very heavily during testing and are scrap

Scrap

Scrap is a term used to describe recyclable and other materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has significant monetary value...

ped. In unusual cases, test mules were acquired by members of the automaker's engineering team.

See also

• Automotive design
  Automotive design
  Automotive design is the profession involved in the development of the appearance, and to some extent the ergonomics, of motor vehicles or more specifically road vehicles. This most commonly refers to automobiles but also refers to motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans...
  
  
• Pre-production car
  Pre-production car
  Pre-production cars are vehicles that allow the automaker to find problems before a new model goes on sale to the public. Pre-production cars come after prototypes, or development mules which themselves are preceded by concept cars...
  
  
• Vehicle glider
  Vehicle glider
  In automobiles, a glider is a vehicle without a powertrain . It is generally a brand new car, but a second-hand car can also be used...