Seat has introduced two new eco-friendly prototype models, the Altea XL Electric Ecomotive, which is an all-electric zero-emission version of its mid-size MPV, and the Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive, a plug-in hybrid variant of its C-segment hatchback.

A test fleet of the two models, which are still in prototype form, will be made available to Catalonia and Madrid government institutions in order to gather valuable information about real-world usage of the cars before moving on to mass production versions

It may have an unsexy name, but Seat's latest creation, the IBL concept, is anything but lackluster when it comes to its styling.

The sharp looking study is a Ford Mondeo-sized sports saloon created to show off the latest evolution of Seat's design DNA, and while the Spanish brand says it does not pre-empt a specific model, its styling philosophy will be applied to the firm's future portfolio.

Seat had told us that it would be unveiling a "new and exciting" concept car at the upcoming 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, but a Spanish fan club beat them to it by publishing the first official photograph of the study, which it claims found on the pages of Spanish newspaper ABC. We asked around and can confirm that the scanned image is indeed is official.

Next up in our list of automakers that are a planning a surprise debut for this year's edition of the Frankfurt Motor Show, which runs for the public from September 15 to 25, is the Volkswagen Group's Spanish division, Seat.

The automaker released a teaser of what looks to be a compact sedan or liftback model covered in a red sheet with the only piece of information that we get from Seat being that it's a new and "exciting" concept car.