The Renault Group's involvement in Russia's AutoVAZ Group seems to be paying off, at least on the design front, with the new Lada Vesta and XRay 2 concepts.
Making their world premiere at this week's 2014 Moscow International Auto Show, the two Lada models are thinly veiled concepts of the production cars that will go on sale within the next 18 months.
Their styling was overseen by Lada's British design director Steve Mattin, who previously worked for Mercedes (1987-2005), where he was credited for the design of the ML-Class and GL-Class, and for Volvo (2005-2009), where he oversaw the creation of the S60, V60, and XC60 Concept.
Mattin, who joined Lada as its new chief designer in 2011, had given us a first sample of the firm's new direction with the XRay three-door concept in 2012.
The Vesta is a classic four-door sedan, while the XRay 2 is a five-door hatchback with a taller ride than your usual supermini giving it a crossover-ish feel.
AutoVAZ says that the two B-segment cars are built on an "absolutely new platform" called "Lada B" that was co-developed with parent company Renault-Nissan, which essentially means it's based on the Renault-Nissan B architecture used on a variety of models like the Nissan Micra and Juke, Dacia Logan and Datsun Go. Renault-Nissan took over AutoVAZ in June of 2014.
Lada said the engine lineup for its upcoming models will include four new units ranging in output from 87hp to 114hp.
Thanks to Wroom for the live photos!
