PEUGEOT’S LATEST BID TO GO THE DISTANCE
PEUGEOT today unveiled a radical vision of its future with a new electric allwheel drive car called Inception — with a range of nearly 500 miles and supercar acceleration from rest to 62 mph in less than three seconds.
The French car giant says the dramatic new prototype concept car with a vast glass cockpit ‘opens a new chapter and presents its vision of the future of the automobile’.
Although some of the more fanciful ideas — such as dispensing with the steering wheel and replacing it with finger-touch controls familiar to video gamers and smartphone users — are unlikely to make it into final production yet, Peugeot insists: ‘Our ambition is to bring most of its innovations to production from 2025.’
Stretching to some 5m long, the 100 per cent electric Peugeot has the low, sleek silhouette profile of an aerodynamic coupe. It is driven by two compact electric motors — one on each axle — giving four-wheel drive and power close to 680 hp (500 kW) equivalent to six Ford Fiestas, allowing it to accelerate from rest to 62 mph (100 kmph) in less than three seconds.
Its 100 kWh battery allows it to travel 496 miles on a single charge. It is equipped with 800V technology and energy consumption is at 12.5 kWh per 100 km (62 miles). The battery charges the equivalent of just under 19 miles (30 km) of range in one minute, or 93 miles (150 km) in five minutes.
Inception can also be recharged wirelessly by induction — like many mobile phones — without the need for a cable, but simply by driving over an electrified pad.