Fiat has offered a bold look at how the MPV could be reinterpreted for the future with the recent unveiling of its Multiplay concept at the Paris Motor Show.

Measuring 4.45m long, the vehicle can change from a six-plus-one-seat family arrangement into a four-seat pickup with an open load bed.

According to Fiat, the concept merges the packaging efficiency of an MPV, the presence of an SUV and the adaptability of a pickup. The company called Multiplay a “laboratory” for ideas and made clear that it is not a preview of any particular production model.

The conversion is based on what Fiat terms the C-pillar ‘Metamorfosi’ architecture, a rear section that moves lengthwise. In family configuration, the interior provides six seats plus a modular ‘Petsenger seat’, capable of taking a child seat, carrying a pet, or functioning as a small table or storage area. When set up as a pickup, four seats remain and an open bed is available for bicycles, sporting gear and large items. In that setup, the rear spoiler pivots into a bike rack that can hold up to two bicycles.

Fiat also drew attention to a practical rear compartment that, it says, can fit up to two children and, if required, an adult. Meanwhile, the front passenger seat can swivel rearward and become a lounge-like ‘Sunseat’ for use while the vehicle is parked.

The concept takes cues from two earlier cars: the 1956 Fiat 600 Multipla, which carried six people in roughly 3.5 metres, and the 1998 Multipla, which provided six seats across two rows in a car under four metres long. Inside, Fiat chose a watermelon-inspired colour scheme, monomaterial knitted fabrics and a dashboard-integrated display that vanishes when the vehicle is switched off.

The concept was shown to the media by Olivier François, Stellantis’s company strategic advisor, and Arnaud Belloni, chief executive of Fiat, Abarth and Lancia. François ceremonially gave Belloni the keys, an act that Fiat said signalled a new chapter for the brand. Belloni outlined that Multiplay was meant to make the car “useful in everyday life.”

The carmaker did not disclose any information about the concept’s powertrain, battery or performance.