Peugeot e-Legend Concept: Back to the future for French EV

French brand Peugeot was hardly going to let its home auto show come and go without rolling out some headline-stealing concept, and now we know the retro-styled e-Legend will take pride of place on the brand's stand at the Paris Motor Show.

Designed as a window into Peugeot's view of an electric and autonomous future, the e-Legend is full-electric and fully autonomous, all while being designed to look like the classic Peugeot 504 Coupe from the 1960s. Back to the future, then.

The e-Legend's electric set-up is powered by a 100kWh battery pack, with 340kW and 800Nm being shuffled to all four wheels. The result is a sub-4.0sec sprint from 0-100km/h and a flying top speed of 220km/h. Peugeot's EV concept will offer a range of around 600km, and with access to a fast charger, will climb from zero to 500km of range in 25 minutes.

What is particularly cool, though, is that Peugeot's vision of the autonomous future isn't all that autonomous, with the e-Legend happy to hand control back to the driver whenever they ask for it.

In autonomous mode, the driver can select between two drive modes; 'Soft', which prioritises passenger comfort and minimises the amount of information being beamed onto the multimedia screens, and 'Sharp', which focuses on connecting the occupants to their social media accounts, work emails or schedules, turning the e-Legend into a mobile workspace.

But the e-Legend is also equipped with two manual settings that hand control back to the driver. The first, 'Legend', is described as "cruising mode", with the dashboard mimicking the Peugeot 504 Coupe's three-dial set-up. The other manual mode is 'Boost', which unlocks the full might of the electric powertrain, and a 180-degree projection of the road ahead is beamed onto the massive 49-inch screen in the cabin.

“Peugeot e-Legend Concept is not just a technological manifesto. This is the vision of a brand actively focused on an optimistic and ultra-desirable future,"says Peugeot CEO, Jean-Philippe Imparato.

"For Peugeot, autonomy and electric are synonymous with even stronger sensations. Boredom will never be part of our DNA.”

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