Volkswagen-owned design house Italdesign Giugiaro has unveiled an innovative new six-seat MPV concept at the Geneva motor show.
The all-wheel-drive Clipper, which is based on VW’s versatile MQB platform, is propelled solely by electricity and has a range of up to 335 miles. Two 148bhp electric motors power the 127mph concept car – one front-mounted and one rear.
With the absence of a conventional engine and the batteries all being mounted in the floor, almost all of the car’s footprint is given over to a spacious interior. There are three rows of two seats, and the rearmost two can be folded flat to create a 900-litre load space.
Italdesign, best-known of late for exotic concepts such as the luxury Brivido GT from 2012 and the Parcour off-road supercar from 2013, says the 4534mm-long Clipper, which is named after a sailing ship, is a “deliberately not futuristic car”, where the only exotic concept-car flourishes are its front butterfly doors and rear gullwings.
The four doors open upwards, and the B-pillars are mounted into the two rear doors to allow improved access into the interior. All six occupants can get into the car at the same time.
The high-tech interior is based around a theme of lightness. The traditionally dashboard-mounted controls are transferred to a floating tablet mounted on a console that can slide between the three rows of seats – a feature allowed by the electric vehicle's lack of a bulky transmission tunnel.
Italdesign has also shown a sportier Ducati-badged version at the Geneva show with altered doors and C-pillars, plus new livery.
