Peugeot Quartz Concept Hides a 500-hp Hybrid Under its Rocky Exterior

For the 2014 Paris Motor Show, the company is bringing out everything it can to show strength to the home market. Among the automaker's concepts this year is the high-performance Quartz that imagines a very tough crossover.

True to its rocky name, the Quartz looks chiseled from a block of stone with sharp, angular lines covering the whole body. Up front, its LED headlights are recessed behind the hood's overhang to lend a menacing demeanor, and the louvers in the side of the hood take the angry appearance even further. It also rides on some seriously weird 23-inch wheels with composite flaps to direct airflow.

Underneath the long hood is Peugeot's 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 270 horsepower and a six-speed automatic. However, the setup is augmented with an electric motor hooked up to each axle boosting total system output to 500 hp. Alternatively for a greener drive, the Quartz can drive 31 miles on an electric charge.

It seems pretty unlikely that Peugeot could ever translate all of this automotive insanity to a production model, but bravo to its designers for coming up with the Quartz.