This is not a dream! Peugeot Inception is a stunning Porsche Taycan-, Audi e-tron GT-rivalling electric sports sedan

It certainly looks like something out of a Christopher Nolan film set in the future, but Peugeot promises its new Inception Concept previews many technologies that will reach production within the next few years.

Revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and online, the Inception is an all-electric sports sedan that has been created as a showcase for the brand’s rapid shift towards an all-electric future. Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson has committed the brand to becoming net carbon neutral by 2038, and to achieve that will have an electrified option for every model in Europe before the end of 2023. The next step will be to have a battery-electric powertrain for every model in its range by the end of 2025.

By this time, the technology from the Inception will begin to trickle down into the production cars. For example, the concept is built on the ‘STLA Large’ platform, a modular electric architecture being developed by Peugeot’s parent company Stellantis. There will be STLA Small and Medium platforms as well which will allow Peugeot to transition its entire range to electric power.

The Inception’s STLA Large platform features a dual-motor powertrain which the company claims up to 500kW of performance and a 100kWh battery which is enough to provide a driving range of 800km. Peugeot says that range figure will be offered on its “next generation” of production cars.

What’s more, the battery technology provides for ultra-rapid charging, with the French brand claiming it will take the equivalent of just one minute to add 30km of range.

The design of the Inception is the obvious standout, though, debuting the brand’s next-generation design language for its electric evolution, which the company is calling Feline Future. There are several noticeable features on the Inception to highlight this design transition.

At the front, there’s what Peugeot calls the Fusion Mask, a front bumper design that replaces the conventional grille opening with a sensor panel and the Three Claw light signature (which is also used at the rear).

The front also features the Aero Tech deck, which is a sliding panel between the headlights that reveals the charging port and details of its charging functions.

Peugeot has evolved its ‘i-cockpit’ concept.

Inside, there’s the Skyspace glass roof that reportedly uses the same material as astronaut helmets and some very futuristic seats. But the really interesting part of the interior is what’s missing - a steering wheel.

Peugeot has evolved its ‘i-cockpit’ concept of a minimalist, driver-centric instrument layout but has gone to the next step of removing a conventional steering wheel and replacing it with what it’s calling a Hypersquare. This is a rounded-off rectangle with four circular holes on the sides and a digital panel in the centre that takes over the steering. Peugeot claims this is a good solution because the Inception is equipped with ‘steer-by-wire’ technology that allows for less steering inputs to be needed, thus reducing the need for a circular wheel.

The company says it has begun customer testing with the Hypersquare and has committed to introducing it into a production model by 2026.