The SEAT Altea Prototipo is a 2+2 seater concept car presented by SEAT

SEAT

SEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded on May 9, 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , a state-owned industrial holding company....

 for the first time at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show, the first SEAT model to be produced inside the Audi brand group unveiled with the aim to give a preview of the SEAT Altea

SEAT Altea

The SEAT Altea is a compact MPV produced by Spanish automaker SEAT, S.A. and named after Altea, Spain. The vehicle was designed by the Italian Walter de'Silva and launched in 2004 as the first example of SEAT's new corporate look...

's definitive road version which was meant to be launched a year later in 2004. Designed by Walter de'Silva

Walter de'Silva

Walter Maria de'Silva is an Italian car designer who is currently Head of Volkswagen Group Design, and is currently responsible for oversight on the design of all Volkswagen Group passenger car brands including Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT, Škoda as well as Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti...

 and belonging to what the Spanish car maker claims to be a 'Multi Sport Vehicle' (MSV) class denomination for a sporty single-volume people carrier, it has been named after the city of Altea

Altea

-External links:*, Portal de Altea*, Good Information-Guide of Altea - in German and English**, Photo gallery of Altea*, spherical Panorama of Altea...

 in the Alicante province of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

The Altea Prototipo incorporates the new SEAT's design direction trend reflecting the 'SEAT auto emoción' philosophy, which was shown for the first time in the 2000 SEAT Salsa concept car, moreover featuring the characteristic for the brand lateral curved descending lines as well as the new front radiator grille. Other interesting points are the windscreen wipers resting at vertical position, the non-visible exterior rear door handles, and the Agile Chassis or Dynamic steering response (DSR)

Dynamic steering response

Dynamic steering response is a car safety technique that corrects the rate of hydraulic or electric power steering system to adapt it to vehicle's speed and road conditions. Similar to DIRAVI, this system was first featured in the SEAT Leon Cupra R and has since been used in a wide range of models...

 system meaning special suspension settings and fittings combined with an electronic programme that regulates power steering response according to driving and steering speed.

Awards

• 'Best Concept Car in 2003', by the Designers (Europe) organisation

Powertrain

Another novelty for the Altea Prototipo is found under the bonnet:

it is the first SEAT model to be powered by a direct injection petrol engine.

• Type: FSI (Fuel Stratified Injection)
  Gasoline direct injection
  In internal combustion engines, gasoline direct injection , also known as petrol direct injection or direct petrol injection, is a variant of fuel injection employed in modern two-stroke and four-stroke gasoline engines...
  
   Inline 4 cylinder
  Cylinder (engine)
  A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
  
   petrol engine
• Displacement : 2.0L
• Power hp at RPM: 150 / 6,000

Transmission

Six-speed automatic and sequential Tiptronic gearbox

Suspension, brakes and tires

The Altea Prototipo is built on a new platform sharing components with the Audi A3

Audi A3

The Audi A3 is a small family car produced by the German automaker Audi since 1996. Two generations of A3 exist, both based on the Volkswagen Group A platform, which they share with several other models such as the Audi TT, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Caddy and Volkswagen Touran as well as SEAT...

 Mk2.

• Driveline: front wheel drive
• Suspension: front MacPherson struts / rear multilink axle
• Tires: 8.5J x 19h-inch low profile alloy wheels
• Brakes front/rear: vented disc / vented disc , ABS
  Anti-lock braking system
  An anti-lock braking system is a safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.An ABS generally offers...
  
   - Electronic Stability Program (ESP)
  Electronic stability control
  Electronic stability control is a computerized technology that may potentially improve the safety of a vehicle's stability by detecting and minimizing skids. When ESC detects loss of steering control, it automatically applies the brakes to help "steer" the vehicle where the driver intends to go...