Kolejna garść plotek...
Lining up with fan speculation that the USS Shenzhou will be destroyed in the first episode, spaceinvader.me reports that this vessel will be damaged in "an unfortunate set of circumstances" in the pilot, leading it to be repaired and renamed.
The original Shenzhou will have more of a "chromey" familiar Federation feel, but once refitted, repaired and renamed to the USS Discovery, the ship will look a little different as you might have seen from the original teaser trailer of the Discovery rolling out of drydock. I am told there are reasons for the gold/copper look of the ship and a solid explanation for the shape.
It is likely that Discovery is working in collaboration with some Klingon factions, namely the actors that have been revealed to be Klingons, in bringing a new order to the Klingon empire.