Global automotive seating supplier Adient in Detroit has collaborated with FCA US in Auburn Hills to visualize the future of seating for the automaker’s Chrysler Portal concept vehicle. The seat will be displayed at Adient’s booth at the 2017 North American International Auto Show at Detroit’s Cobo Center next week.
The Chrysler Portal is an innovative take on the “fifth generation” of family transportation, and is targeted at the millennial generation. The vehicle was unveiled yesterday by FCA US at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Chrysler Portal’s interior design offers a “third space” by providing drivers and passengers an open atmosphere within the vehicle.
According to Richard Chung, vice president of innovation for Adient, the vehicle will feature a thin seat set on a track system. From there, the seat can be folded flat, be positioned fore and aft, or several seats can be stacked together. Tracks embedded in the floor allow users to move the seats through the full length of the interior, and can be removed easily to open more space.
“We took great pride in collaborating with FCA US on the seat for this visionary vehicle,” says Chung. “Our advance engineering team worked closely with the FCA US team to develop the innovative features of the Chrysler Portal seat, which addresses trends such as urbanization and autonomous driving.”
The Chrysler Portal vehicle seat also offers a new approach to reclining, which includes a propriety relationship to cushion adjustment. To increase interior space, a so-called stadium flip-up feature allows for the seats to be stack against each other. A fold-flat design, meanwhile, allows the vehicle to carry larger items on the seat backs, as they lay flat on the vehicle floor.
