Peugeot Concept Shown at Beijing Tweaked for Paris

Peugeot unveils a new tactic for next month’s Paris auto show: a restyled concept car.

Restyling typically is reserved for production models, and when a concept-car chassis is recycled for a new project, it is usually given a different name. In the Exalt concept, Peugeot introduces a sequel.

Last spring, the automaker displayed a potential successor to its flagship 508 luxury car aimed at  Chinese buyers at the Beijing auto show. Its exterior design was bold, sharp, angular and somewhat complex. The interior design also was progressive and attractive.

Six months later the Exalt concept adopts a new look, one of French and European elegance. The silhouette of the exterior is smoother and more curvaceous, while the interior’s modern-home design theme is preserved but has a combination of material, colors and trim more in tune with European taste.

Peugeot says the rear end of the Exalt improves the drag coefficient with its use of sharkskin, a textile with a technical grain structure that improves aerodynamics and reduces fuel consumption. This feature is highlighted by Coupe Franche, a clear line between the rear door and the side window that creates a tone-on-tone transition between the bare steel and gray sharkskin. The back end of the Exalt shown at the Beijing show was burgundy red.

Both concept cars share most of the platform and drivetrain and feature a gasoline-electric HYbrid4 engine with combined output of 340 hp. Overall dimensions and proportions of a new kind of 5-door fastback high-tail architecture are unchanged. The Paris Exalt is 185 ins. (4,700 mm) long and maintains its low silhouette with maximum height of 51.6 ins. (1,310 mm) and sitting on 20-in. wheels.

The Exalt concept aims at uncommon versatility for a sedan. An innovative pantograph mechanism in the tailgate maximizes the opening while requiring less space externally. The tailgate and integral motorized flap reveals a trunk with a low-load rocker panel, providing easy access to the HYbrid-Kick concept moped. The HYbrid-Kick is a foldaway electric scooter stowed below the trunk floor that allows drivers to easily reach their final destination.

“Peugeot holds a unique position in the market with its range of 2-, 3- and 4-wheeled mobility solutions,” product director Xavier Peugeot says. “Combining an electric scooter with our Exalt Concept demonstrates Peugeot's ability to offer an integrated, innovative solution to cover last-mile mobility requirements.”