Both Uses

prototype
in
The Hunt for Red October
(Auto-generated)

A month earlier, while Ramius had been fitting out the Red October after her initial shakedown, Tupolev and three of his officers had flown down to see the model sub that had been the test-bed for the prototype drive system.†
Chpt 2.
He still worked closely with the tank design and production teams, often taking a prototype or randomly chosen production model through a test course with a team of picked veterans to see for himself how well things worked.†
Chpt 12. *

Definitions:

(1) (prototype as in: prototype of the new machine)
the first version of something upon which future instances will be based -- such as a new machine or process
(2) (prototype as in: prototypical response)
a standard example
(3) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
More rarely, prototype can reference a primitive example containing essential features of later examples.