European-American automotive giant Stellantis took the Paris motor show by storm this week with a flood of concept vehicles, as yet more Chinese brands – including BYD and Changan – previewed their plans for European expansion.
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In addition to the sultry Alfa Romeo Cuorerosso concept, the throwback Peugeot RCZ Vision and E-T16 concepts, and the retro-chic Citroen 2CV concept, Stellantis showed off concepts for three of its other European brands.
The DS F3VER concept previewed a new design direction for DS Automobiles, a brand often viewed as being on the bubble as Stellantis juggles more than a dozen brands, while the Fiat Multiplay features a familiar-sounding name on an unusual new body style, and the Opel STX concept shows what future wagons could look like from the German marque.
Technically, Lancia didn’t have a fresh reveal at the show, though it showed off various members of its recently unveiled Gamma mid-size SUV lineup – its second new model in two years after over a decade without any new vehicles.
DS F3VER
DS Automobiles, a premium, Europe-focused brand spun off from Citroen, revealed the F3VER as an “exploratory concept car opening a new chapter in its design story”.
However, there’s a hint of one of the first vehicles offered by the brand – the DS 3, sold here as a Citroen prior to the formation of DS Automobiles. Like the DS 3, the F3VER concept is a small hatchback with a two-tone exterior treatment.
It features an electric powertrain promising “class-leading electric range”, though DS Automobiles hasn’t offered any powertrain or battery specifications.
The F3VER measures 4.19m long, 1.84m wide and 1.46m tall on a 2.7m wheelbase, making it around 200mm longer (all in the wheelbase) and 130mm wider than the Citroen DS 3 sold here, with tight overhangs front and rear.
Angular lighting elements like those of recent DS models can be found up front, while the tail-lights resemble those of the first DS 3 in shape but feature a 'light tunnel' effect that makes them appear to extend infinitely.
Both the front fascia and rear bumper feature a vertical 'totem' within which sits the DS logo.
These sharp, angular design elements are juxtaposed with curvaceous, muscular sheetmetal like the fenders and bonnet, while the concept is finished in Cosmic Blue dichroic paint contrasted with champagne-coloured accents on the roof and wheels.
Fiat Multiplay
Using a name last seen on an innovative but polarisingly styled people mover – albeit now with a ‘y’ on the end – the Multiplay concept is a mid-size (4.45m-long) vehicle that combines elements of people movers, SUVs and utes.
The Multiplay features what Fiat calls its Metamorfosi C-pillar architecture, a mobile rear module that allows the vehicle to be converted from a three-row people mover to a four-seat ute with an open bed.
Fiat isn’t the first brand to demonstrate such a concept. This year, Chery revealed the Tiggo V SUV that features a rear canopy and third row of seating that can be removed, allowing the vehicle to be converted into a ute of sorts; the Deepal E07 Multitruck already on sale in Australia also has the ability to be converted from a sleek coupe SUV to a dual-cab ute with the push of a button.
The rear spoiler can be rotated to become an integrated bike rack when the Multiplay is in its ute configuration, while in people mover guise the car features a 6+1 configuration with a ‘Petsenger seat’, a modular unit that can be used as a dedicated space for a pet or small table, or a place to mount a child seat.
Other details include an outer section of the Petsenger seat that can be detached and used as a leash; a front passenger seat that can be transformed into a lounge chair while the vehicle is parked, with the dashboard serving as a backrest; and a display that disappears into the dashboard when the vehicle is switched off.
It’s all finished in a green exterior paint job and a red and green interior, intended to make the vehicle resemble a watermelon.
The concept’s name is a nod not only to the clever 1998 Multipla, a six-seat, two-row people mover that measured less than four metres long, but also the 1956 600 Multipla that could seat the same number of people in a vehicle just 3.5m long.
Opel STX
The Opel Sports Tourer eXperimental Concept, or STX Concept for short, shows the Stellantis-owned brand’s vision for the future of its wagons.
Opel also says it “symbolises the next stage of Opel’s design philosophy – even bolder, even purer, even more emotional and even more efficient” and “anticipates the visionary further development of the estate body style”.
While it’s referred to as an estate, it’s certainly much bolder than longroof Opels like the Astra Sports Tourer.
The roof line slopes dramatically towards the rear, terminating abruptly at a Kammback-like rear.
There are sharp side creases and prominent rear fenders, and active aerodynamics such as diffusers that protrude from the rear at certain speeds.
Opel’s family face has gotten bolder. The ‘Vizor’ seen on Opel vehicles has gotten taller and more prominent, which Opel says is in direct contrast to many electric cars today that feature an ‘ultra-slim face’.
The Vizor takes up most of the front fascia, and features slim slanted vertical lighting elements that appear to fade towards the centre of the vehicle.
The bonnet and front bumper are sharply creased, matching the sides and roof of the vehicle, and various blue accents dot the exterior.
Particularly distinctive design elements are the glass light strips that connect to the rear side windows, matching similar strakes on the roof.
The STX rides on aerodynamically optimised three-section alloy wheels wrapped in 285/35 R22 Goodyear tyres.
The concept features an electric powertrain, all-wheel drive, and a top speed of over 200km/h, but no other performance or battery details have been revealed.
“Our Opel STX Concept reinterprets the estate!” said Opel CEO Florian Huettl in a press release.
“The study shows characteristic features that will be found in future Opel models and underlines Opel's role as an estate pioneer in Europe.”
MORE: Alfa Romeo Cuorerosso concept previews brand's futureMORE: Citroen 2CV revived as budget EV steeped in nostalgiaMORE: Peugeot RCZ Vision coupe revealed with 500hp and solid-state batteryMORE: Peugeot E-T16 concept is a rally legend reborn, previews next E-208