 It was one of four concept vehicles produced by the company in the five-month period following the appointment of Olivier Boulay as its head of design in 2001, after DaimlerChrysler's purchase of a controlling interest in Mitsubishi Motors.Boulay, the General Manager of DCX's Advanced Design Studio in Yokohama, was seconded to MMC, and immediately began creating a strong image for their cars through a common "face" seen on all the concepts, in the curvature of the lower edge of the grille, the size and shape of the badge and the sharp crease rising up the leading edge of the bonnet.More radical styling concepts included the thick wraparound tubeline encircling the body which also housed the front and rear lamp units, detachable, semi-transparent body panels in the doors, and seatback-mounted backpacks.