Frankfurt 2007: SEAT Tribu Concept debuts new styling direction

Alex Nunez — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:02:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Europe, Crossover, SEAT

Click image for photo gallery

VW's SEAT brand is getting a makeover, and the Tribu concept unveiled in Frankfurt shows us where the marque's headed, stylistically. Penned by new SEAT design chief and Lamborghini expat Luc Donckerwolke, the Tribu jettisons the more organic, flowing shapes of current SEATs and replaces them with taught lines and a face that is very Audi-looking. We have to believe that it also foreshadows a SEAT-branded crossover that'll have this same general shape, if not all the details, obviously.

Some of the concept's highlights include a fancy, rail-mounted rear hatch that opens in two stages. The first one opens it partially to allow for quick stowage of small items. When opened fully, it slides up over the roof. No engine specs on this design study are given, which leads us to assume it's not a runner. Still, the concept is said to incorporate three selectable drive modes -- Urban, Sport, and Freerun -- which respectively alter engine and suspension settings to favor economy/cleanliness, performance, and off-road ability. There's no traditional shifter, just wheel-mounted paddles for a sequential gearbox, and the rest of the interior is an exercise in typical concept fantasy fare wherer shapes and materials are concerned. In the Tribu's case, what you see outside is most important, and you can expect to see more of it in future concepts and production cars from the Spanish brand.

Follow the jump for a full press release, and check out the attached gallery below. For even more shots of the car's live reveal, head over to Autoblog Spanish.

[Source: SEAT via Autoblog Spanish]

Gallery: SEAT Tribu Concept

Frankfurt 2007: SEAT Tribu Concept debuts new styling direction originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Frankfurt Preview: SEAT Tribu Concept

Alex Nunez — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:01:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Europe, Crossover, SEAT

Click image for photo gallery

The European crossover assault continues with the SEAT Tribu concept shown above. The Frankfurt-bound show car was leaked to Carscoop, but unfortunately, no specifics were given to go with the photos. Carscoop speculates that it's possibly built on the VW Tiguan platform. We speculate that its very Audi R8-reminiscent front end treatment and more angular lines signal a possible change in the marque's design language. We'll also go out on a limb and guess that there's a TDI underhood (because it's a European VW brand making a Euro-show debut) and that someday, SEAT will offer a trucklet loosely based on this, albeit with 4 doors and taillamps that are higher than bumper-level. We'll stop now and wait for the inevitable press release from SEAT, at which point we'll tell you the real story. At least rearward visibility won't be a problem in this puppy.

[Source: Carscoop]

Gallery: SEAT Tribu Concept

Frankfurt Preview: SEAT Tribu Concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments