Italdesign Giugiaro Clipper concept car at Geneva Motor Show 2014

Italdesign Giugiaro Clipper concept car at Geneva Motor Show 2014.

In a break from the sultry and fanciful concepts we've come to expect from Italdesign Giugiaro, the Italian design house is debuting a new electrified people-mover concept at this week's Geneva motor show. Called the Clipper after the streamlined sailing ships of the 1800s that "transported precious cargo like spices," the concept is a unique vision into the future of suburban utility.

As Giugiaro is now a member of the sprawling Volkswagen Group, the fully electric Clipper utilizes VW's ubiquitous MQB modular platform. It sports six seats divided into three rows, the middle and rearmost of which fold down to form a modest 32-cubic-foot cargo hold. Batteries of unspecified-yet-substantial capacity are housed low in the vehicle's flat floor for safety and provide up to a very optimistic 335 miles of range.

Although the overall styling—which includes a relatively smooth nose accented by LED lighting and small vents to provide cooling air for the batteries—is sleek yet conservative by concept-car standards, things get wilder once the doors are opened. The front pair open first in a butterfly arrangement, while the rears follow in a gullwing design. The B-pillar is integrated into the rear doors, creating one large aperture for greater ingress and egress—and we'd imagine one helluva spectacle at the curb.

Powering the relatively light Clipper (3968 pounds) to a claimed—and respectable—top speed of 127 mph are a pair of 147-hp electric motors, one for each axle, providing all-wheel drive with what Giugiaro says is independent control of each 20-inch wheel. The transmission is a direct-drive setup, while the suspension is comprised of struts in front and a multilink arrangement at the rear. The Clipper rides on a 109.8-inch wheelbase, with overall length, height, and width measuring 178.5, 61.1, 75.4 inches, respectively.

"This year, we wanted to focus our styling and engineering research on a project for a deliberately not-futuristic car," says Giorgetto Giugiaro of the Clipper. While his firm's latest work is definitely practical in nature, the space-age interior interface is a bit of a stretch for near-term reality. The Clipper's electric powertrain and its funky doors do a better job of foreshadowing the not-to-distant future.