Peugeot BB1 Concept Revealed

[Plex]

Press Release

The Peugeot BB1 - Mobility for the future

* Zero emissions
* Electric powered with a range of 75 Miles
* Accommodates four occupants
* Reinvents the automobile in every way

With its BB1 concept car, Peugeot has pushed back the conventions and boundaries of current automobile manufacturing to create a totally new solution to the current and future needs of urban mobility.

Capable of seating four people in a vehicle just 2.5 metres long, the BB1 concept car is a full electric vehicle that reinvents the automobile in every way: architecture, style, interior design, interior space, connectivity - while all the time respecting the environment.

The world is always on the move and urban traffic levels are forever increasing. Everyone wants to save time, but the protection of the environment is an ever increasing priority.

To meet these ever changing needs, Peugeot has developed a range of mobility options across all of its many product offerings. Depending on age and individual needs, everyone can find a suitable solution in Peugeot's lion-branded range of bikes, motorbikes and automobiles.

Peugeot are, however, constantly studying and sharing mobility ideas within all the different sister companies to pool their expertise and their creativity to create particularly innovative and original projects. Indeed, Peugeot has always sought to be a global, recognized provider of mobility, with an inventive, responsible and competitive range of vehicles, whether they are on two, three or four wheels.

The BB1 concept car, unveiled at the 63rd Frankfurt Motor Show, paves the way for this ideal by pushing back the barriers to bring an innovative, fun, expressive and stylish vehicle. This electric vehicle aims to explore new grounds with regards to urban mobility.

A totally original idea

The design brief for the BB1 was to meet the mobility needs of everyday individuals on a daily basis and provide maximum versatility, a compact size, manoeuvrability (3.5m turning circle) and good performance levels.

To achieve all this, the Peugeot teams faced a real challenge - never before in the history of the automobile has a car been created to accommodate four people in an overall length of just 2.5m. This amazing use of interior space can also be adapted to increase the potential load capacity, even though its "compact" size gives it the ability to park in extremely tight spots - even perpendicular to the pavement.

To meet this challenge, the design of the structure of the passenger compartment has drawn inspiration from two-wheeled vehicles in terms of the ergonomics and controls. The driver controls the vehicle by adopting a novel driving position - more vertical than is usual. This is mainly made possible through the absence of foot pedals, as in a conventional car.

Access to the vehicle is through the reverse opening doors, while the load area access is through an innovative tail board / tailgate design. The interior can be transformed as required to offer a load volume of up to 160 litres (with four occupants), or 855 litres (with just one person in the car).

A stylish break with the past

The style of the vehicle highlights the interior space and the unique driving position. With its bold styling lines at the front, large glazed surface area, low door waistline (for the passenger compartment ventilation system) and extended wheel arches, the car represents a real move away from current vehicle design.

Robust and protective, the quality and technology shine through in every detail, such as the "full LED" front headlights and rear view cameras. The double bubble roof, similar to the RCZ, helps with the feeling of space within the vehicle, as does the openness and brightness created by the large glazed surface areas.

User-friendly connectivity

The BB1 includes an extensive range of interactive technologies. The colour multi-function display and the vehicle's audio system provide the ideal link for all the functionalities of a "smart phone": telephone, navigation, Internet access, radio, MP3... Just connect the device to the USB connector and the 12V power socket if necessary.

Universal and user-friendly, this system enables the BB1 to provide a range of essential services without the need for multiple pieces of equipment, bringing extra safety to driving and saving considerable weight.

Similarly, the rear-view cameras remove the need for mirrors, optimising the width of the vehicle and improving its aerodynamics, while adding to the high-tech feeling of the interior.

An environmentally-efficient vehicle...

Creative - the BB1 breaks new ground with its electric drive system. It is fitted with two electric motors mounted in the rear wheels, designed in association with Michelin. This original set-up maximises the interior space and draws its inspiration from the world of the quad bike. They produce a maximum power output of 15 kW (20hp) - or 7.5 kW per motor, proving the optimum power to weight ratio for the vehicle in its urban driving environment. This ensures the best possible response at start-up (0 to 19 mph in 2.8 seconds) and excellent in-gear acceleration (19 - 37 mph in 4 seconds), ensuring driveability and safety are to the levels expected of a Peugeot.

The power for the vehicle is provided by two lithium-ion battery packs supplying energy to the respective electric motors located under the right and left-hand rear seats, with a comfortable range of 75 miles. This layout avoids any reduction in the interior space or the available storage space. Furthermore, this location between the front and rear wheels helps with the weight distribution of the vehicle and benefits vehicle stability, especially during braking.

Innovative light-weight structure...

Peugeot engineers have completely reinvented the way to design a vehicle. The BB1 uses a tubular chassis designed by Peugeot Motorcycles. It still, however, includes all normal "car" dynamic systems: electric power steering, suspension (double-wishbone front and rear suspension), friction damper spring assemblies - granting the vehicle a level of road-holding to match the vehicle's performance, its urban nature and driveability and safety levels worthy of the Peugeot Marque.

The body is made up of a very light carbon fibre structure, designed to wrap around the passenger compartment, all of which enables potential future customisation and a possibility of a variety of vehicle shapes.

Finally, the vehicle weight does not exceed 600 kg, including the batteries, enabling all its mechanical parts to be placed in their ideal position, ensuring optimal weight distribution.

An environmentally-friendly concept

Thanks to its electric propulsion, the BB1 is an environmentally-friendly vehicle par excellence and emits no loud noise outside the vehicle and, above all, no pollutant emissions owing to the fact that it consumes no fossil fuels.

But this eco-responsibility isn't limited to just driving. At a standstill, the passenger compartment ventilation keeps operating in daylight thanks to the solar panels placed on the roof of the vehicle. This enables two functions: pre-ventilation of the interior and the trapping of pollutants and ultra-fine dust particles (μm), due to the use of high-performance filters and activated carbon.

The use of new generation solar cells

The BB1's solar panels use cutting-edge technology, designed in partnership with the Ocean Vital foundation. Flexible (enabling their usage on surfaces as complex as the dual-bubble roof of the BB1), they provide a high yield of around 16% of energy captured (a much higher performance than current systems) to power some of the vehicle's systems.

The Ocean Vital Foundation, created by round-the-world navigator Raphaël Dinelli, develops new clean technologies with the aim of preserving our natural resources and environment. As part of the BB1 project, Peugeot and Ocean Vital have entered into an agreement to support research and development into new renewable energy technology and, therefore, encourage the development of research projects and the "green economy" in France.

The story continues...

The name "BB1" isn't only a reference to Peugeot's history and the "Baby Peugeot" models of 1905 and 1912.

This ultra-compact, lightweight electric vehicle concept is also something of a throwback to the Peugeot VLV. Three hundred and seventy seven of these were built between 1941 and 1945, meeting the then special needs of users throughout the Second World War. All this stands as proof that Peugeot has always been able to create and adapt its mobility options to a particular time and need.



Worldcarfans

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Peugeot BB1 EV Hits the Paris Boulevards

PARIS — Peugeot knows that the true arbiters of French urban style can be found on the grands boulevards of Paris. That's why it took its BB1 microcar concept out around town to meet "Parisians and fans" ahead of a tour of many of Europe's hippest cities. The BB1 EV debuted in September at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show.

The BB1, the French automaker's "urban mobility project," is a full-electric four-seater that measures a mere 98.4 inches in length. Peugeot is promoting it with a sense of humor: "Its grandfather was a pepper mill," for example. The concept has already known a bit of succès d'estime: 15,000 Facebookers signed up as fans in three days after the BB1 fan page was launched, Peugeot brags. Peugeot filmed passers-by and showed their reactions to the little car. The BB1 spent two autumn days in Paris, finishing with a lap of honor on the Champs-Elysées and finishing up at Peugeot headquarters.

Next on the agenda: city tours of the same type in Frankfurt, London, Milan, Berlin and Madrid before returning to Paris in December. Does this presage a production green light? Peugeot hasn't yet said.

Inside Line says: Ah, autumn in Paris...chestnuts grilling on street vendors' carts...a lovely time to tour the city in a car barely bigger than one of those carts. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent

Edmunds

[Plex]

Peugeot BB1 electric concept car
Decision close for fate of BB1

Peugeots director general Jean-Marc Gales has stated that a decision will be made within the next four months on the fate of the Peugeot BB1 concept car. It is hoped that the Peugeot BB1 will go into production.

The 8ft 2in four seater Peugeot BB1 has a lithium-ion battery powered driveline with two 20bhp in wheel electric motors, these give a combined output of around 20bhp, plenty of power for something weighing in at only 600kg. Its lithium-ion batteries can deliver a 130km range, a top speed of 80mph and can be fully recharged in just six hours. The Peugeot BB1 can cram in four passengers which is clever seating as it is smaller than the Toyota IQ. Instead of a steering wheel it has handlebars; the seating is bicycle style saddles. With its carbon-fibre bodywork, the Peugeot BB1 will not be cheap, but Jean-Marc Gales says it should sell for less than 12,000 Euros (£11,140). It might also mean the vehicle could be homologated under the quadricycle rules, which will mean cheaper tax and insurance.

Motoring

[Plex]

Attracting Stares And Scares On The Peugeot BB1 Grand Tour



Halloween may be over, but fright night has just begun in five European countries that are due for visits from the ghastly Peugeot BB1 electric concept.

After it’s September debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Peugeot took the eight foot long, four-seater concept on the road. The car just finished an whirlwind appearance in Paris where it attracted more stares than Grace Jones, and now is headed on a grand tour of Europe from Covent Garden to Milan. The tour begins at Berlin’s Sony Center, and continues to what Peugeot says are five other “places that will draw crowds.”

As much as it haunts our nightmares, we can’t fault Peugeot for an intentionally avant garde design that’s meant to draw attention to the future of electric cars. The car is a natural conversation starter, with its scooter-like steering mechanism, side-view cameras and an outward appearance that suggests a Smart fortwo that’s seen a few minutes in the microwave.

It appears that Peugeot’s strategy is working. The company claims that 15,000 Facebook users are fans of the BB1, and in a short film at the concept’s website, Peugeot focuses more on the reactions of Parisians to the car’s presence than the automobile itself. A child, either mesmerized or horrified, appears transfixed by the car as he stares at it through a window. Grown-ups marvel at the steering and throttle controls that are integrated on a single yoke-like mechanism, not to mention the integrated smartphone control and rear-hinged doors.

Still, with all the technical wizardry, most of the public seems interested in the electric drivetrain. Powered by in-wheel electric motors in the back wheels, Peugeot says the BB1 has a top speed of 56 mph and a range of 75 miles — hardly Tesla material, but adequate for a microcar designed for use in congested cities.

It’s at least an improvement on the original Peugeot VLV electric microcar from 1942, which the company says was the inspiration for the BB1, that could only reach a top speed of 20 mph with a range of 50 miles.





Wired

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Peugeot BB1 London Preview Event with Jo Wood, Chrisopher Biggins & Brian friedman

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Peugeot Will Build Version of BB1

PARIS — As part of a major brand revisioning for 2015, French automaker PSA will build a version of the Peugeot BB1 electric concept, among 14 new models that it plans to launch worldwide over the next two years.

PSA also plans to re-emphasize styling as well as focus on the company's emerging role as a provider of broad mobility services and cutting-edge technologies.

Unveiled last fall at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, the BB1 would seem to fit neatly into that strategy. Described by some as more of a quadricycle than a traditional passenger car, the BB1 expands the boundaries — and definition — of personal transportation, with twin in-wheel electric motors in the rear and a unique tandem seating arrangement.

The production version of the BB1 "will embody all of the spirit" of the concept, the company said, including its four-seat configuration and pure-electric propulsion system.

In addition, PSA said its future production technology portfolio will encompass greater use of battery electric power, diesel hybrids (including plug-ins) and stop-start systems.

The Peugeot brand's future styling direction is being established with the SR1 concept, which will make its public debut at the upcoming 2010 Geneva Auto Show in early March.

In the meantime, Peugeot will launch a variety of new models this year, including the sporty RCZ and the battery-powered iOn, plus three new vehicles in Latin America and a new version of the 408 sedan in China.

To support the brand's revisioning, the Peugeot lion has been restyled and a new slogan — Motion & Emotion — is being adopted.

Inside Line says: PSA desperately needs to revitalize both its brands. Citroën should be next in the barrel. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent

Insideline