The automotive industry is one of the most competitive in the world, and manufacturers tend to be extra cautious when testing new products out in the wild. It's not uncommon to see heavily camouflaged cars lapping the Nurburgring or cruising the streets of California, but what one doesn't regularly see is a complete body hiding the underpinnings of another car. A recently spotted pic on Instagram shows off a lifted Mercedes-AMG E63 driving around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, and according to sources was actually testing out some new Aston Martin DBX parts. The Aston Martin DBX which officially entered production six months ago is Aston Martin's first foray into the world of SUVs.

There are a few hints that give away the fact that this Mercedes-AMG muscle car on stilts is actually an Aston Martin DBX. For starters, the car is clearly rolling on a set of DBX alloy wheels. The second clue as to its British underpinnings is the fact that the Mercedes-AMG used as cammo is a previous generation car, and could have possibly been used to test the original DBX's tech. It is worth mentioning that the DBX also shares its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine with other Mercedes-AMG performance cars.

The brawny turbocharged engine under the current DBX's hood is also used in the Aston Martin Vantage and DB11, and in this configuration produces 542 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission. Aston Martin claims a zero to sixty time of 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 181 mph. Using a Merc body as camouflage is a very sneaky move by Aston Martin, and only time will tell what the manufacturer is hiding from the automotive community, but one thing is for sure: the DBX is going to get better.