Giugiaro, Proton team up to make hybrid city car concept for Geneva

What you’re looking at here is the first picture of the new hybrid city car concept designed by Italdesign Giugiaro for Malaysian automaker Proton Cars. The concept, which will debut at the 2010 Geneva Show in March, is said to preview a production model.

The 5-door hatchback has room for four and measures 3,550mm in length. However, Giugiaro’s tag line of “How can you fit an SUV into a city car?” should give you a hint of how Proton and the Italian designer plan to maximize interior cabin room. Giugiaro says that the new hybrid city car concept is “set to revolutionize traditional segmentation in the car market” and “was developed with the aim of optimizing the available onboard space and car access ergonomics.”

The model sits higher than the traditional subcompact vehicle and is based on a Giugiaro-designed platform. It has a raised floorpan that accommodates the hybrid system’s lithium-ion batteries at the rear.

More details on the hybrid will be provided at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show – stay tuned.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoCar