At what production volume does a prototype stop being a prototype? IMHO these have to be considered at least a short run. Odd how we never heard of these until a few years ago, or at least I hadn't.
I'm not aware that these ever really hit the shops (Gibson employees might have sold them off one by one), there were certainly no advertisements for that shape. The first Ripper advertisemnt I know of still had the mudbucker covers, but already the first version of the classic double-cut version as regards the shape.
http://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/adDetails/201That said and looking at it now ...
, that shape isn't quite the first version of the double-cut version either (more elaborate bevelling than on what later came out) and it doesn't have the large routings yet either, the pg only covers the neck pup, not almost the whole bass as the final versions did.
The Greg Lakes and Peter Ceteras of this world (as the initial name players) already had the (first version) of the classic double-cut shape in the promo pics of the time.
I now understand that white suits and whimpish ballads -
"C'est la if you leave me now" - were de rigueur if you played an early Ripper.