Peugeot EX1 is Just Electric

To celebrate Peugeot's 200th anniversary and to highlight the enormous possibilities offered by the use of electric power, Peugeot has created the four-wheel drive EX1 electric concept car, offering up to 340bhp.

To celebrate Peugeot's 200th anniversary and to highlight the enormous possibilities offered by the use of electric power, Peugeot has created the four-wheel drive EX1 electric concept car, offering up to 340bhp. Unveiled last week at the Montlhéry circuit in France, the EX1 two-seater roadster has already set six new World Acceleration Records. Accelerating faster than a supercar, the Peugeot EX1 smashed the quarter-mile, 500m and 1000m speed records, previously set by Georg Von Opel (Opel GT Electric, 1971) and then set three new speed records over an eighth of a mile, half mile and 1 mile.

The world-record setting EX1 is designed to be as efficient as possible with regard to weight, aerodynamics and propulsion. It is powered by two electric motors, one located at the front and the other at the rear of the vehicle. Together they produce a peak maximum power of 340bhp with a constant torque of 240 Nm at the front and the rear.

Its lightness, weight distribution and aerodynamics, the torque and power of its two electric motors and its high-output lithium-ion battery make this a car capable of lightning acceleration that can exceed 1g of gravitational force.

The EX1 has been designed to Peugeot's new style codes, first seen on the SR1 concept car in early 2010. The floating front grille, flowing body contours and polished aluminium details are mirrored in the recently launched RCZ Coupe and BB1 electric concept vehicle.

The driver and passenger climb into sports bucket seats through a reverse opening door and are instantly immersed in a futuristic, hi-tec environment. The on-board instrument panel screens for each occupant show the vehicle's performance. The driver, seated at ground level in a race-car driving position, drives the vehicle by using two control handles.

Protected by the safety harnesses inside the car, the occupants are also cosseted by a carbon passenger cell, which includes a roll-over protection bar. An integrated wind deflector allows the car to be driven on a daily basis without a helmet. On racing circuits, where helmets must be worn, Peugeot Style has teamed up with Ruby helmets to produce two specific helmet designs.

 The EX1's "garage" protects the vehicle when parked, but is also designed to be an independent recharging station, free of any cabling constraints. Its roof contains solar panels that use daylight to create electricity which is then stored in a battery, ready to recharge the EX1 when required.

In setting the six new World Acceleration Records, Peugeot has demonstrated that electric vehicles have a lot of potential, and are not just city runabouts. Electric vehicles are clearly a solution to reduce carbon emissions, but they can also provide new levels of performance, unobtainable in conventional cars.

The EX1 concept car is now on display for all to see at Peugeot Avenue, 136 Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris from the 22nd September to the 14th November 2010.

Pictured: Peugeot EX1 and record-setting driver, Nicolas Vanier

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