Friday, October 22, 2010

New Sport Peugeot EX1 previews future electric

Peugeot EX1 previews future electric

We were able to check out the EX1 electric concept from Peugeot at last month’s Paris Auto Show and although this concept was fun to look at and explore, the look of the overall car didn’t seem like something that would be driving down the road anytime soon. Of course, this concept isn’t just an oversized paper weight, Peugeot has stated that it is a preview for a future sports car from the French company.

In a recent interview, a Peugeot spokesman said: "The EX1 shows that we can do many things with electric cars. It shows how far we can go."

The timeline isn’t set in stone just yet, though. Peugeot has no plans to produce an electric sports car "for the time being." However, the spokesman said Peugeot could still one day make a production model EV sports car.

The concept is powered by two electric motors, one on each axle, each with a peak output of 167 HP and a maximum torque of 240 Nm at the front and rear. The same spokesman said the EX1 is thus in the same speed category as Porsche’s 918 Spyder hybrid concept, meaning we could see a sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds. That is, if this concept doesn’t get lost in the shuffle from now until whenever they are ready to start production