We know that Peugeot, like many other manufacturers, wants fully electrify your range of vehicles. This ambitious goal, however, requires a series of profound changes that cover almost all levels of the company. Precisely, one of the essential requirements to develop this evolutionary path is to have new platforms.
Stellantis, Peugeot’s parent group, is working on four electric car platforms that will come accompanied by a renewed design philosophy, new technologies and features. Most of these innovations, according to the manufacturer, will reach production cars in 2025, but the Peugeot Inception Concept presented today seeks to mark the way forward.
Peugeot looks to the future with technology and a “feline” attitude
As we say, the Inception Concept is not a commercial product, but it is worth contemplating its details to get an idea of what the brand’s vision is for the future that, as we can see, will bring radical changes. And we do not say it, according to Peugeot, the concept represents “the most important change of the brand.”
Peugeot’s new concept car has been designed on the platform STLA Large, one of four BEV-by-design future platforms from the Stellantis group. At the design level, we are looking at a low saloon that is 1.34 meters high and 5 meters long, dimensions that have been specifically chosen “to highlight the vehicle’s innovations.”
Let’s dig a little deeper into the Inception Concept. The car is equipped with a 100 kWh battery that allows it to travel 800 km on a single full charge. The saloon version of the Mercedes EQS, for example, reaches a maximum autonomy of 743 kilometers. Peugeot says that, to achieve the aforementioned autonomy, the Inception has a consumption of 12.5 kWh per 100 km.
As for charging, the battery can charge the equivalent of 30 km in one minute. If the car is left connected to the charger for five minutes, autonomy rises to 150 km. They do not point out the characteristics of the charging station, but they point out that it has innovated by incorporating induction charging, a method that eliminates the need to connect a cable.
If we talk about the motorization, here we find two compact electric motors, one in the front and the other in the rear capable of providing a combined power of 680 hp (500 kW). If you wonder about acceleration, official information ensures that in just 3 seconds you can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h.
Before we explore the exterior design of the car, which deserves a special dedication, let’s see what’s new for the driver and passengers. The first thing that strikes us is that the concept says goodbye to the dashboard. The entire control panel is located in the lower part and the small cockpit that allows controlling the driving parameters “like a video game”.
As we can see in the images, the classic steering wheel has been replaced by a new ergonomic device. The innovation behind this is known by the name of Hypersquare and consists of a screen with circular cells in each of its four corners that have several functions: natural control, driving and activation of the controls.
The combination of Hypersquare with “Cluster Halo” leads us to have to talk about the exterior of the car since the latter is a flexible screen located in the background that shows driving information. Its objective is to offer a external communication channel for those who approach the car. During the transition to L4 level of driving delegation (STLA AutoDrive), the Hypersquare is removed, and a widescreen slides out of the ground.
In the Peugeot Inception Concept, glass predominates with its windshield, side windows and standard windows taking part in the leading role of the design. The bodywork, however, also has shading made up of very fine metallic pigments and the front end adopts a new light signature that incorporates the brand’s emblematic three claws. On the side we find the Tech Bar, a screen that emits different messages to the outside.
Innovations have also reached the wheels of the car. These are wheels designed on an axial symmetry. Peugeot explains that they have forged textile inserts that contribute to aerodynamics and aluminum inserts they give a high-tech look of design. The emblem of the illuminated Lion, for its part, remains static when the wheels are in motion.
Images: Peugeot
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