The lion firm is taking advantage of CES in Las Vegas to present a concept car that announces the future of Peugeot. On the program: a powerful 680 hp engine, a 100 kWh battery, a range of 800 km and a level 4 autonomous driving system.
“Each show has its own Peugeot concept car”. Here is a nice adage, which could almost prove to be true as Peugeot is a regular at concept cars. The brand has also often been criticized for not going all the way by offering what we generally appreciate about the concept, directly on production cars.
The latest example is the Peugeot e-Legend which, let’s face it, would have deserved its production version, even in a limited edition at a substantial price. She would certainly have found her audience. But in the age of rationality at Stellantis, concept cars serve above all as a rolling laboratory and have no vocation to become production cars.
It’s a shame, because the concept presented at CES in Las Vegas would certainly be a hit. Here is the Peugeot Inception, a model that gives an overview of the manufacturer’s know-how to the lion and of its ambitions in the field of electricity and technologies from 2025.
Technology, even outside
Peugeot aims to be the leader in Europe among electric car sales, and the path still looks long, even if the Peugeot e-208 is the best-selling electric car in France today, it does not end up in the European annual top 5.
The Peugeot Inception is based on Stellantis’ largest platform, the STLA Large. Contrary to what one might believe from the view of the photos, this concept is very large, since it measures five meters long for a height of 1.34 meters.
The silhouette is distinguished by a very marked stern and luminous signatures in the shape of lion claws. There are several interesting elements on the exterior, starting with the “NARIMA” panes, which cover a total area of 7.25 m2. They are entitled to a treatment based on multi-chroic metal oxide, like the visors of astronaut helmets developed by NASA.
Thus, the windows are able to absorb heat and ultraviolet rays in an optimal way, allowing to have a fairly nice play of light in the passenger compartment, but above all to avoid having a hot interior in summer when the car is left in direct sunlight.
The color of the bodywork is also interesting with metallic pigments and a single-coat paint that can “color” depending on the external environment. It’s a bit like a chameleon.
On the sides, we find a screen called “Tech Bar” which displays messages outside when approaching passengers. It’s a bit the same principle as on the new Afeela presented at this same CES, the new car designed by Sony and Honda, the screen indicates the state of charge of the batteries, welcome or goodbye messages.
A surprising steering wheel
Ten years after the launch of the first i-Cockpit on the Peugeot 208, the brand unveils a new evolution of its interior. The element that changes the most, this is what Peugeot calls the Hypersquarea rectangular-shaped steering wheel with four “holes” to grip it.
This type of steering wheel could arrive on production Peugeots in 2030. The brand specifies that its design “provides a natural grip, while improving accessibility to all car functions”.
How is it characterized? The manufacturer indicates that to adjust the air conditioning or the intensity of the regenerative braking, it will be enough to move the thumbs on the various touch screens integrated into the steering wheel. For the moment, seen like that, it doesn’t really look very practical.
Yes, but here again Peugeot defends itself, since its concept car is based on the STLA AutoDrive architecture which allows level 4 autonomous driving. When the driver activates this mode, the Hypersquare retracts and disappears into the dashboard.
As a reminder, with level 4, the driver is no longer necessary. It’s the car that bears the responsibility for driving, but only on certain roads. The vehicle performs all of the driving completely autonomously, that is to say without even the necessary presence of a driver on board. The system bears its responsibility for all the actions that it will carry out, in particular concerning maneuvers or even its decisions according to the evolution of the environment.
To finish with the passenger compartment, Peugeot specifies that the Inception is equipped with Comfort Fit seats which adapt to the morphology of each passenger and a Focal Hi-Fi system integrating two subwoofers in the floor. The concept incorporates many recycled materials such as the “velvet” of the polyester seats or the steel present on certain elements.
Up to 800 km range
Technically, the Peugeot Inception concept includes a large 100 kWh battery with an 800-volt architecture for ultra-fast charging. The manufacturer announces a range of 800 km with a single charge and a consumption of 12.5 kWh per 100 km, in particular thanks to particularly well-worked aerodynamics.
The car can regain 30 km range in just one minute of charging. In addition, it can also receive charging by induction. Remember that this technology is still in its infancy, electric taxis equipped with this system are currently being tested in Nottingham, England.
The Peugeot Inception concept embeds two electric motors, each arranged on an axle, which therefore makes it a four-wheel drive. The total power delivered is 680 hpenough to beat 0 to 100 km/h in less than three seconds.
As is often the case with Peugeot, this concept is more akin to a kind of technical demonstrator of the technologies to come on future Peugeots and, more generally, on the cars of the Stellantis group. This concept therefore has very little chance of ever having its production version, even in a limited edition.
Stellantis, via its Chrysler brand which it intends to relaunch soon in Europe, presents its vision of the interiors of the (electric) cars of tomorrow. On the program, no steering wheel, but a maximum of entertainment and assistance.
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