Peugeot Reveals Beijing-Bound Exalt Concept in Full

Picking up where the show-stopping Onyx concept left off two years ago, the Exalt concept adopts a similar approach, but applied to a four-door form. The elegantly muscular body stretches almost 15 and a half feet (4.7 meters) long but just 51 inches (1.31 meters) high, riding square on 20-inch wheels. But it's what that bodywork is made of that sets it apart. The bare metal panels that form most of the vehicle's surface are beaten into shape by hand just as they once were, while the back portion is covered in a unique sharkskin-like textile.

Inside it's all bare metal with aged leather trim that's clamped (not cut), with surfaces covered in a wool-based woven material, offset by ebony wood trim, basalt fiber (that's said to be more environmentally friendly than carbon) and 3D-printed inserts that hide the speakers. Everything's controlled by programmable toggle switches, and there's even an air filtration system that disinfects the cabin's surfaces when the vehicle is stationary and unoccupied.

The whole package weighs just over 3,700 pounds, making it a little bit smaller but several hundred pounds lighter than a Mercedes-Benz CLS, yet its hybrid powertrain makes it more potent than all but the V8 versions of the former. Under the hood is a 1.6-liter inline-four with 270 horsepower, while the back axle is powered by a 50kW electric motor to give the Exalt concept a combined output of 340 hp and through-the-road all-wheel drive.

Peugeot is presenting the Exalt concept at the Beijing Motor Show in a couple of weeks.