Stepping inside the Peugeot Inception Concept

Peugeot first debuted its Inception Concept more than a year ago, but now we got a chance to sit in it and experience the future through the eyes of Peugeot. This concept will not go into production in its current form and only some of the design elements, as well as materials and technology will be seen in Peugeot’s upcoming road vehicles. We got to experience it in person at the VivaTech expo in Paris, France and here's what impressed us.

Peugeot Inception concept at the VivaTech expo.

The exterior looks like it's ready to cut you with its razor-sharp edges everywhere. Peugeot's trademarked claws make this an instantly recognizable member of the French brand's portfolio, but now they are even more noticeable in the rear, which looks like it’s still rendering or a part of an 80’s lo-fi video game. The design is definitely captivating with its retro-futurism and the suicide rear doors provide a clear look at the whole interior, getting completely rid of the B-pillar. We have seen many beautiful concept cars from Peugeot throughout the years, and we only wish their roadgoing versions were at least partially as daring as the prototypes suggest.

The Inception Concept looks like it may cut you just by looking at it.

Inside the Inception is where it gets even more interesting. For starters, there is no traditional steering wheel and its controls are like those of a game console. Don’t expect to see that in the near future of production Peugeots, but we know for a fact some of the steering wheel controls will be present. However, we highly doubt we’ll ever see something like the infotainment in production, which looks like a carburetor mounted on top of the dashboard, instead of a regular screen.

The interior is even crazier than the exterior.

You sit on mini Tesla Cybertrucks instead of regular seats, which doesn't look comfortable at all, but as you get inside you realize that only the shells have this weird triangular shape and the seats are actually quite cozy. All the materials inside are recycled and underline Peugeot's ambition of going carbon-neutral in the near future.

The Inception prototype comes with a 100 kWh battery pack and a 500 kW (680 hp) powertrain. This should be enough for about 311 miles of range, but arguably more intriguing is the charging procedure, which we eagerly anticipate seeing in future models. The Inception charges wirelessly with about 19 miles/min. While odds of this going commercially viable are slim we'd be keeping an eye on its development.

The Peugeot Inception Concept has a plethora of interesting details.