Peugeot unleashes radical supercar

Published Sep 12, 2012

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Peugeot competed in Le Mans until recently and has also shown its fair share of supercar design studies over the years.

So are they capable of building a supercar? Little doubt.

Will they build this radical new supercar concept then? Don't hold your breath.

Embracing the modern age in every respect, the Peugeot Onyx supercar concept that you see here is both efficient and fast, thanks to its innovative lightweight structure and V8 diesel hybrid powertrain.

Its 3.7-litre turbodiesel, developed with input from Peugeot Sport, kicks 447kW through the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox. However, its kinetic energy recovery system allows the car's lithium-ion batteries to further boost its output by 60kW.

SUPERCAR SLAYER

No acceleration figures have been handed out, but given that the car weighs just 1100kg, you could safely expect a set of supercar-slaying numbers. It's compellingly aerodynamic too, thanks to a flat carbon fibre floor among other slippery measures.

Peugeot has been rather innovative with its use of materials for this supercar. Its voluptuous body was fashioned by a master craftsman and the wings and doors are pure copper sheet. The rest of its panels are in matt black carbon fibre, while the windows and roof are made of PolyMethyl MethAcrylate.

The cabin is made of compressed and stretched felt and formed as a one-piece pod with no stitching or joins.

INSPIRED BY AN EGG BOX

Interior stylist Julien Cueff had this to say: "For the interior, I was inspired by an everyday object, the egg box. With remarkable economy of material, it protects very fragile items. I adapted the concept into an intuitive space, with a minimum of connected parts, to become one with the car."

The dashboard and console, meanwhile, is made from 'newspaper wood' which is essentially compressed newspaper that even shows the printed characters on closer inspection.

As green as it is mean, the Onyx appears to be just a flight of fancy for now. Unless Peugeot is ever bold enough to build something like this for the (elite) public.

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