Fiat Revives The Multipla Spirit With The Shape-Shifting Multiplay Concept

Fiat has dusted off one of its most storied nameplates and reimagined it for a modular, electric-friendly future. The new Multiplay concept borrows the Multipla’s reputation for squeezing maximum utility into a tiny footprint, but adds a twist: a rear section that slides in and out, letting one vehicle shift between a ruggedized minivan, a pickup-style hauler, and something resembling an SUV.

The Multipla’s backstory explains why Fiat keeps returning to it. The original 1950s version was celebrated across Italy for carrying six occupants in a body under 3.5 meters long, while the polarizing 1998 second-generation model leaned hard into family-car practicality despite its divisive looks. The Multiplay picks up that thread and pushes versatility further, essentially asking why a household should park two or three different vehicles when a single one could cover the spread.

In minivan mode, the concept offers a 6+1 layout: six seats for people plus a modular “Petsenger” base that can serve as a pet perch or an anchor point for a child seat. The turquoise base detaches into a leash and includes a folding bowl tucked into a small door compartment. Switch to pickup configuration and one rear backrest slides forward to support the Petsenger base, trimming the cabin to four seats. With the roof section slid forward, the bed swallows camping gear or even a pair of bicycles, while an integrated roof spoiler doubles as a bike rack. Fiat also notes that when parked, the front passenger seat can swivel rearward and the dashboard becomes a backrest, turning the cabin into a lounge-like space beneath a panoramic glass roof.

The styling leans into an Italian summer theme, with a watermelon-inspired palette—green outside evoking the rind, red-and-pink inside suggesting the flesh. A horizontal dashboard strip nods to the Mediterranean horizon, where sky and sea appear to meet, and a hidden display stays invisible until the car is switched on. Outside, a pixelated LED light bar beneath the windshield and rounded daytime running lights in the large bumper echo the previous Multipla.

Fiat has stayed silent on what would power the Multiplay, though its short overhangs and long wheelbase suggest a natural electric platform, with virtually no space left for a combustion engine under the stubby nose. Modular vehicles are hardly a new idea—Citroën, now under the same corporate roof as Fiat, sold the 2003 C3 Pluriel, a car that could be configured as a hatchback, convertible, or roadster pickup. That experiment was undermined by a complex roof prone to reliability and water-leak troubles, a cautionary tale the Multiplay will have to avoid if it ever reaches showrooms.