Chrysler claims to have invented the minivan but that's mere marketing hype, albeit clever stuff. Volkswagen was actually first in 1953 when Dutch distributor Ben Pon sketched an idea that would make more of the Beetle platform and spawn a successful family of commercial vehicles. Three years later Fiat launched the Multipla, which showed the world just how much useable space could be crammed onto a compact platform provided the manufacturer sacrificed style and performance. Host platform for the Multipla was the Fiat 600, a family car not much bigger than today's Smart. Nevertheless the Multipla did yeoman duty as a taxi in Italy's crowded cities. According to Classical Drive contributor Nigel Mathews the Fiat Multipla was available in a number of seating or cargo configurations: The 4/5 seater version was fitted with two bench seats that folded into a bed; the six-seater had a front bench seat and four individual seats that folded flat into the floor to make a useful cargo van; the taxi version had a luggage platform next to the driver, a folding middle bench seat, and a fixed bench seat in the back. Take that, all you contemporary minivan manufacturers! During its 13-year production run, 2.7 million examples were produced. A contemporary Multipla is as odd-looking as the original, though equally functional.