Peugeot Sparks The Imagination
The Age
Saturday December 6, 2008
WHAT'S in a name? Quite a lot, when it comes to the car that is known - these days - as the Peugeot RC HYbrid4 Concept.
Unveiled by the French car maker with much fanfare at the Paris motor show in October as the HYmotion4 Concept, official pictures and information on the pretty Pug disappeared from the internet a few days later. They were finally made available - with the revised name - this week.Drive believes the early name might have fallen foul of US-based A123 Systems, which produces a "Hymotion" conversion module that turns Toyota Priuses into a plug-in hybrid vehicle, although a spokeswoman from A123 Systems declined to comment when contacted by Drive.Whatever you call it, Peugeot's latest concept combines a supercar-like profile with the practicality of a four-door sedan. Modern materials including a carbon body have been fitted to an aluminium spaceframe to reduce weight and increase driveability. An extra-long wheelbase, which reduces overhang, gives the dual benefit of increasing stability while allowing the passenger cabin to take up a generous amount of the available space. To further assist weight distribution its hybrid powertrain is split, with the 160 kW, 1.6-litre turbo engine mounted transversally in the rear and a 70 kW electric motor housed in the front. The batteries, one of the heaviest and bulkiest components in hybrid vehicles, are sensibly positioned in the centre transmission tunnel.As with most petrol-electric hybrids, the electric motor, which gathers its power during braking and deceleration, can propel the car at low speed before handing over to the petrol engine for cruising. The two power plants can combine under heavy acceleration for a 230 kW shove that propels the RC HYbrid4 from 0-100 km/h in a handy 4.4 seconds, and a laudable combined carbon dioxide emission figure of 109 grams per kilometre. The electronically controlled, six-speed manual gearbox has several modes, including an all-wheel-drive configuration. Underneath, double aluminium wishbones work together with an innovative suspension system that controls body roll and damping functions via a hydraulic link between the right-hand and left-hand shock absorbers. The system works in place of an anti-roll bar and keeps the car sitting flat through corners while also providing vibration filtration.Externally, form and function have both been considered in a muscular, low-slung design reminiscent of Audi's R8 supercar that also makes good use of airflow and aerodynamics to improve performance. A longitudinally split, double glass roof continues the flow of crease lines originating on the bonnet, where LED headlights frame the air intakes and the centrepiece Peugeot badge. Inside, tactile materials such as leather, aluminium, chrome and carbon dominate, along with some showy blue backlighting and a jet fighter-like instrument cluster.Peugeot has not announced any plans to put the RC HYbrid4 into production, but look for selected ideas and components to filter through its next generation of cars. -- STEVE COLQUHOUN
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