By: Dave Abrahams
Paris, France - Peugeot's headline concept car for the upcoming Frankfurt motor show takes the electronic cockpit to the next level.
The Fractal is a compact high-performance battery-powered coupé that's been created to explore two very different aspects of the automotive future - 3D printing of components and the development of acoustics as a means of communication between car and driver.
COMPACT
The 2+2 seater Fractal is only 3.81 metres long and 1.77 metres wide, with overhangs of just 520mm front and rear, making it ideal for cramped European city streets, and a removable roof panel to turn it into a cabriolet.
It runs tall, narrow tyres on 19 inch rims developed in an anechoic chamber to reduce tyre noise by bouncing the sound waves from one surface to an other - but the design turned out to be impossible to make either by casting or forging so the Fractal's rims had to be produced by 3D printing.
HIGH PERFORMANCE
The Fractal has a 75kW electric motor on each axle, powered by a 30kWh lithium-ion battery pack in the centre tunnel. Peugeot quotes 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds, a standing kilometre in 28.8 seconds and a nominal range of up to 450km - although not at the same time, of course!
What's unusual about the system is that the motors have different drive ratios so that the rear motor kicks in first, while the front motor gradually takes over above 100km/h.
3D PRINTIING
More than 80 percent of the car's interior components have been produced by 3D printers, including the acoustically neutral surfaces that cover 15 square metres of the cabin.
These were produced by generative design, a process that allows the computer to explore all variations of shapes and structures for a given part, mimicking the natural evolutionary process of design, only much faster and more exhaustively, to arrive at the perfect part - especially as 3D printing allows the use of shapes that cannot be produced by any other process.
The choice of trim materials was inspired by auditoriums and recording studios; copper-trimmed black oak with 3D-printed anechoic motifs on the fixed surfaces, and bucket seats upholstered in a mix of textured textile mesh and white leather.
ACOUSTICS
The Fractal makes hearing as important a part of driving as sight and touch, using three mid/high range speakers, two tweeters, and a woofer in front, and two mid-range speakers, two woofers and a subwoofer in the rear. Each function of the car - ignition, lights, indicators, hazard lights and navigation - has its own 'voice' projected to come from where it's happening.
When you're using the navigation system the voice guidance sounds as if it's coming from the front but, as you get nearer to the next change of direction, it moves towards you and shifts to the side you're going to turn to.
And at an intersection, it moves inside the car, close to your elbow, to warn you to get ready for an immediate turn.
The sound system also has what Peugeot claims is a world-first tactile bass system, developed in the United States, that uses a two-channel bass thumper in the back of each seat, so that the sound waves reach the inner ear through your body.
It's apparently an intense auditory experience - and can hardly be heard outside the car.
Brazilian sound designer Amon Tobin took his art outside the car as well, designing a sound signature for the Fractal that's nothing like any conventional vehicle on the road. It changes its tone depending on whether the car is accelerating, cruising or braking - and gets louder when there are other road users such as pedestrians or cyclists around.
The tone becomes even sharper and more attention-getting when the car detects a pedestrian about to step off the pavement in front of you without looking.
THE NEXT LEVEL
The Fractal's electronic cockpit is not only about acoustics; it also has a head-up display with a high-definition holographic screen and a steering wheel with a touchpad under each thumb for intuitive control of a range of functions, while the driver's seat pushes and tugs on you to give you feedback based on car's handling.
There's even a panel in the rear so the peanut gallery can adjust their immediate surroundings.
Lastly, the Fractal is paired with a Samsung Gear S smartwatch that keeps you updated on battery charge levels, how long till it's fully charged, the temperature inside the car - and where it is.
It also functions as a one-touch key to open the doors, and set up the aircon and sound system.