Is this paying homage to the old Peugeot 205 T16 rally car?
It most certainly is. The E-T16 concept celebrates the 40th anniversary of the boxy 205’s back-to-back manufacturers’ and drivers’ title victories in the 1985 and 1986 editions of the WRC.
And underneath all the lurid bodywork, it also teases the “ultimate vision” of the next-generation Peugeot E-208 hatchback.
Want the two most bonkers of headline stats for the E-T16 concept EV? OK, it has 816hp. And that allows it to do 0-300km/h in 16 seconds. Yep, look again; 300km/h. Cripes!
How does it achieve such outputs?
Via means of three electric motors, one mounted at the front and two at the rear, resulting in one of the most-powerful Peugeots ever made. Yes, Le Mans racers and wacky Pikes Peak entrants included.
Peugeot says it has a power-to-weight ratio of less than 2kg/tonne. And, for those of you who like maths, that means the E-T16 clocks in at less than 1,632kg accordingly. Thank the extensive use of carbon fibre in its make-up for that.
The key phrase associated with this, though, is “for a modern, road-legal car”, giving us the tantalising prospect of this, or something very like it, making public showrooms at some point in the future.
Have you got more nitty-gritty on the technical details?
We have. Full torque-vectoring can split the immense electrical drivetrain power to any of those three motors as needs it most, while a trio of drive modes adjust the settings. One of these is called Performance, another Track for “unrestricted extreme driving”.
Stopping power is handled by four 380mm disc brakes, while the hydraulic handbrake is mounted vertically, as in WRC cars.
Grip aplenty for the Pug: the Michelin tyres are 275-section at the front, and whopping 315s at the rear.
Along with its new take on the three-claw Peugeot signature lighting signature on the outside, within the cabin is something else that’ll make the forthcoming production E-208s: a next-gen iCockpit with a Hypersquare steering device.
Love it or loathe it, this thing comes direct from the Peugeot 9X8 World Endurance Championship machine, and in the E-T16 it is connected to a steer-by-wire set-up.
For the first time, the Hypersquare integrates a configurable central display into its boss, showing data like speed and lap times.
The battery, meanwhile, is an 85kWh item powered by 800-volt architecture. Peugeot cites a 400km WLTP range for the E-T16, with a 10-80 per cent best charging time of less than 15 minutes.
What’s important with mega-power EVs like this, though, is repetition of performance.
Peugeot Sport’s engineers have thus worked hard on battery cooling under extreme duress, to the point that the French firm reckons the E-T16 concept could complete three laps of the Nürburgring Nordschleife at maximum chat in Performance mode, with no power limitation.
That’s in excess of 60km, for reference.
And, for good measure, let’s give you one last performance number. The Peugeot concept will do 0-100km/h in a staggering 2.5 seconds.
This sounds incredible. Can you talk about the looks?
Well, you have eyes, so you can drool over the pics here. We’ve already touched upon the light signatures previewing what will surely come to production Peugeots before too long, but the company keeps referring to things like it being “wild by nature but civilised for everyday use”.
We sincerely hope the marque is not messing around, because to have this thing in our hands would be phenomenal. Seriously, look at those boxy arches.
Check out the sculpted bonnet with twin air outlets. Clock that exceptional ‘cat-ear’ rear wing.
And goggle at the Winchester Matte Grey body finish, a direct nod to the old 205 T16, plus the fact the entire rear section of the E-T16 hinges upwards to show off the adjustable suspension and twin rear motors.
Yes, the 205 T16 did the same thing.
Inside, and indeed throughout the whole car, there are red details, which nod back not only to old, fast 205s of all varieties, but also the recently released Peugeot E-208 GTi, which has red carpets everywhere (referencing its legendary Peugeot forebears).
The panoramic HD display up front is 21 inches in size, while carbon-fibre trim, anodised aluminium panels and technical mesh are all on display.
Finally, what self-respecting high-performance car would be without a gorgeous set of bucket seats? Thus, the E-T16 has a pair of most-splendid items for you to feast your eyes upon.
You like it, then?
What do you think? It’s enough to make any sane person drown in their own drool.
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