Paris - Peugeot is honouring both its past and its future in a stunning way with the new e-Legend concept car, which has been revealed ahead of its Paris Motor Show debut.
While its retro-modern styling takes inspiration the iconic 504 coupe, the concept tackles tomorrow’s trends with fully autonomous capability and enticing battery-powered performance.
Its electric powertrain produces 340kW and 800Nm, allowing for a sub-4-second 0-100km/h time, while the 100kWh batteries are said to enable a range of up to 600km between charges, according to the WLTP protocol.
It would be a shame if this vehicle was only designed to drive itself, which is why engineers devised four distinct driving modes - two autonomous and two manual - all catering for different moods and scenarios.
The driverless modes are ‘Soft’, which focuses on comfort and reduces information displays to a minimum, and ‘Sharp’ which maximises connectivity.
In these configurations the steering wheel retracts beneath the ‘sound bar’ to make the 124cm central screen fully visible, while the front seats recline and the side armrests deploy.
When you’re in the mood to drive, there’s a choice between the nostalgic ‘Legend’ mode, which evokes memories of the 504 Coupe by digitally creating wood trim and three old-fashioned instrument dials, and ‘Boost’ mode, which creates a more dynamic and stimulating mood.
While all of that is a bit far into the future, the concept does also preview a new voice-activated ‘personal assistant’ developed in conjunction with AI tech company Soundhound. A version of this system will become available to customers in the next two years, Peugeot promises.
The concept furthermore seeks to maintain social harmony within its cabin with the help sound diffusion technology that effectively places each occupant in their own ‘sound bubble’.
Either way, we do hope that future Peugeot models take more than just a little styling inspiration from this concept.