Peugeot has revealed its Quartz concept ahead of a public debut scheduled for early next month at the Paris Motor Show.

Ultra-athletic crossover

Riding on massive 23-inch wheels with functioning flaps, the Quartz concept combines the body of an SUV with the cabin of a sedan and features styling taken from Peugeot’s latest design language, which first debuted on the Exalt concept at the Beijing Motor Show. It measures 4.5 metres in length and is 2.06 metres wide with benefits from a composite structure and bonded body panels to shave off weight.

The concept additionally comes with LED lights, an electronically-retractable step, ‘scissor’ doors, two rear wings and a glass roof. There’s also a limited slip differential and a front MacPherson struts suspension combined with a rear multi-arm setup. The pneumatic suspension is automatically adjustable and offers a ground clearance varying between 300mm and 350mm.

Interior styling features

Inside, the Quartz gets a basalt-coloured centre console which Peugeot calls the ‘i-cockpit’ – complete with a compact steering wheel with built-in controls for shifting gears, digitally-woven textiles using plastic from recycled water bottles and fawn-coloured leather highlights sourced from old furniture and clothes.

Other interior highlights include a configurable head-up display with a central 45-degree polycarbonate strip providing extra info, along with four bucket seats that have an exposed seat structure and come with a four-point retractable harness.

High-performance drive train

The Peugeot’s Quartz concept will be powered by a plug-in hybrid drive train comprising of a 198 kW 4-cylinder 1.6 THP turbocharged petrol engine with 330 Nm of torque, supplemented by an 85 kW electric motor which charges the 400V battery during deceleration and also provides assistance to the conventional engine during gear changes. The rear axle also features an 85kW electric motor for propulsion and battery charging.

In EV mode, the car runs for up to 50 km using battery juice. In Road mode, the front motor and the engine work together in FWD unison, while Race mode will allow the concept to use the combined output of the THP engine and the two electric motors.

The Peugeot Quartz concept will be on display starting October 4 during the 2014 Paris Motor Show.