15.09.2004 The Paris Show will feature the Fiat Idea 5Terre, a stylish concept with off road capability, which was first unveiled back in March at the Geneva Salon

The Paris Show will feature the Fiat Idea 5Terre, an idea-based concept which was first unveiled back in March at the Geneva Salon.

It is a show car that is distinctive for its ability to appeal across the board. The model combines the dynamic and functional appearance of an SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) with the modularity and internal flexibility of an MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle).

The Fiat Idea '5Terre' sets out to combine a stylish shape with typical off road features, a design and styling approach that will make for interesting products in the future and will affect the SUV - MPV segments in particular.

The model's name reflects this striving for balance between form and content. The Cinque Terre is one of the most famous Mediterranean coastal areas, a strip of land suspended between the sea and the sky where uncontaminated nature has coexisted for centuries with the work of man.

And for one thousand years these small villages in Liguria, perched on sheer cliffs and surrounded by green hills, have taught us that the balance between opposites is not only possible but often produces results of stunning beauty and extraordinary harmony.

The show car on view in Paris may be seen (and experienced) in the intricate streets of a European metropolis but also on desert tracks or amid border landscapes.

Since its launch, this Fiat model has managed to overcome the historical limitations of conventional cars by reconciling apparently contradictory characteristics: roominess despite compact size, handling despite a large load compartment, functionality and versatility with an airy and carefully appointed interior of up-to-date, appealing design.

This means that the show car is the ideal solution for a modern motorist who is part of a society in which technology has accustomed him to see the 'multipurpose' value of objects.

As a result, the car becomes a versatile product that can adapt to different activities: work to relaxation, culture and leisure time.

In other words, the car must evolve with the motorist who does not accept compromise. Which is why the Fiat Idea '5Terre' is a perfect mixture of the intelligent solutions of rational architecture and all-Italian design whose strong personality retains an elegant line and fluid forms inside and out.

Derived from the basic model, the '5Terre' prototype stands higher and has distinctive two-tone bodywork, combining 'sunny' Rainbow Gold (three coats of paint with warm iridescent tones) and the Moss colour of the side rubbing strips (a colour with a granular effect that recalls the Mediterranean scrub).

The side strips underscore the lines sculpted into the sides, urging dynamically forwards. The front itself has a trapezoid shape, where the two lateral 'claws' highlight the tapered wings, embracing the bumpers and the lower air intake with a strong three-dimensional effect.

The drop-shaped, oblique headlights fit modular hi-tech optics, mounted without frames in a kind of eyelid with a winged profile, which act as the direction indicators. And finally the grille, which merges dialectically with the other styling features to produce the ridge at the centre of the bonnet.

The Fiat Idea '5Terre' has generous glazed surfaces which enhance the luminosity and visibility in the interior, lightening the car's compact, sturdy shape, an effect underlined by the upper pane that extends the windscreen dynamically onto the roof.

The sensation of solidity is repeated in the protective metallic mouldings in the lower part of the front and rear bumpers. This is a distinctive styling feature which is designed to protect the sophisticated 4x4 engineering of the car. The tail end has a simple, rounded shape, from which the cylindrical light cluster modules emerge.

And so from the exterior to the interior. The passenger compartment is furnished with the same warm welcoming colours as the bodywork, using natural materials like the woven coconut matting that covers the floor and the rear luggage compartment.

The upper lid of the facia is treated with a moss effect that is soft and porous to the touch, while all the controls have a 'metallic' finish similar to molten steel.

The Moss colour returns in the door panel inserts, upholstered in soft, marble-effect 'Maktub' which also covers the seats. It is an Alcantara ultra-microfibre specially developed for the car by Trend Design Alcantara.

The effect is completed by the napped Dove Grey leather inserts of the head-restraints and lateral containment of the seats.