We couldn't possibly cover this year's Paris auto show without throwing in a few French-fried vehicles, right? Francophiles rejoice, because your favorite nation's automakers are still mighty keen on turning out the weird and the different. Take this pair of Peugeot concept cars, for example. One of them has been shown before in slightly different form, but the other one is all new.
Exalt Concept, Part Deux
Peugeot mailed an unlikely package to the 2014 Beijing auto show, and inside was the Exalt concept. Skinned in an unusual combination of bare steel and a fleshy covering referred to as "shark skin," the Exalt struck us as a Mazda 6 sedan executed with weird materials and as envisioned by Honda. Now the Exalt is back, and this time it's wowing folks on its home turf in France.
The 2014 Paris version of the Exalt features the same bare steel front body, but the rear "shark skin" portion has been changed from eerie red to a more sharklike gray color. Aside from the freshened exterior, the Exalt gains "newspaper wood" interior trim—as seen on Peugeot's amazetastic 2012 Onyx concept—and an electric scooter that deploys from the trunk. The rest of the Exalt remains the same, right down to its 340-hp hybrid powertrain and stunning curb presence.
Quartz Concept
When the Exalt debuted, it stood alone on a styling island, separate from the stuff that Peugeot actually produces. Consider the Exalt's lonely spell over, since the new Quartz crossover concept is essentially the sedan concept's high-riding fraternal twin. Based on Peugeot's 308 platform, the Quartz wears Exalt-like styling—right down to its two-tone coupe franche ("clean-cut") color scheme—and also is hybridized. Power comes primarily from a 270-hp turbocharged 1.6-liter four, but an 85-kW electric motor fitted to the front axle helps out.
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The Quartz, while lacking the Exalt's bizarre shark-skin exterior covering, nonetheless embraces non-reality with a highly stylized four-place interior, a quartet of scissor doors, and 23-inch wheels with aerodynamic spats. Neat details include digitally woven interior textiles with strange patterns, LED lights, and a textured Peugeot lion badge that catches light differently depending on the angle at which it's viewed. Yep, the French still have it. Whatever "it" is.
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