Step into your future – Our print lift-out cover explained

This Saturday, Drive is publishing a 12-page Electric Cars lift-out in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Saturday Age newspapers. The publication is the third in our EV education series and takes a look at how the future of motoring is considered and planned, as well as designed, built, driven, and ultimately recycled.

MORE: Explore the Drive Electric Cars Guide

Once again, we looked to create an eye-catching cover that illustrated the journey from where we have been to where are are going, and that naturally featured an electric car. The idea was to create a photo that clearly presented two halves of our motoring timeline - the recent past on one side, leading to the not-too-distant future on the other.

Here's what the mockup looked like as a brief for the team to properly create:

While we had ready access to the Toyota BZ4x, we turned to the team at Carbar in Nunawadding to help supply the 2016 Toyota RAV4 as a vehicle that wasn't too old but felt like a 'trade up' to the new Toyota EV. To match, 'past' Emma has headphones with a cable, whereas 'future' Emma wears earbuds.

For the shoot, photographer Mat found a location in Docklands that provided a sharp and natural centerline to match the split between the cars, with the modern apartment building's balconies aligning perfectly with the middle of the cars.

Clever measurements and tape markers were used to align the cars, but given the RAV4 sits 35mm higher than the BZ4x (1685mm to 1650mm), the final image needed a few subtle tweaks in Photoshop to match perfectly.

As a final composite, the cover photo gives a unique look at the direction the automotive world is heading, clearly showing the change in the way LED lighting and the reduced need for air intakes have altered modern car design.

The Drive Electric Vehicle lift-out is available in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Saturday Age on Saturday 27 April 2024.

Thanks again to Carbar for the loan of the RAV4. You can view similar listings for sale on the Drive Marketplace here.

Catch up on our three electric vehicle specials here, or over at 9Now.