Peugeot’s future steering wheels could look like… the Nintendo Switch

At the CES in Las Vegas, Peugeot presented its concept car named Inception. There’s no need to get too excited about the vehicle’s innovative design, see this concept as a manifesto. It will never integrate the range of Peugeot electric vehicles in this form. On the other hand, Peugeot could draw from it stylistic and technological elements to integrate them into future models of the range.

In this innovation laboratory, Peugeot has incorporated a new approach to what could be the future of the brand’s driving position and steering wheel. This order called “Hypersquare” intrigues and challenges by its form and its functions.

How does the Peugeot Hypersquare work?

While the trend is towards new forms of steering wheel that are more truly round: yoke (at Tesla) or butterfly (at Lexus), Peugeot is trying an even more radical approach. Its Hypersquare control is, in its form and its use, closer to the game console or the smartphone than to a traditional steering wheel.

First thing to remember, the Hypersquare is based on Steer-by-wire technology. This means that the mechanical links of the steering column disappear and are replaced by digital electric controls. The Lexus RZ450e, with its butterfly steering wheel, will have the same technology in 2023.

All driving parameters are changed at your fingertips from this “steering wheel”, while keeping your hands on the steering control. In the example displayed during the presentation at CES in Las Vegas, we see that 4 functions are active on the Hypersquare: the gear selector (in “Drive” mode), the driving mode, the regenerative braking setting and sound control. Other functions can also be activated from the shortcut icons of the Hypersquare: air conditioning, driving aids… The steering wheel allows you to do everything.

This new-generation steering wheel is made up of a tablet-type screen and 4 physical cells (or knobs), which allow you to navigate and confirm changes with your thumbs without letting go of the Hypersquare. A mixture of touch screens and physical buttons, whose functions change at will.

The hypersquare can thus remove some of the interior controls and buttons, without necessarily having to use a remote touchscreen control (as in Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y). Peugeot thus seems to seek to find the best of both worlds. The brand hopes to introduce the Hypersquare as a replacement for the current steering wheel and instrument cluster (i-cockpit) before the end of the decade.

The Inception concept is also thought of as a vehicle equipped with level 4 autonomous driving. During the delegated driving phases, the Hypersquare retracts under the dashboard and a full-width screen unfolds. It still has its small effect, even if it is an element that the brand had already integrated into its previous e-legend concept, which remains our favorite to this day.

What to remember from the rest of the Inception concept?

The Peugeot Inception Concept is created on the basis of the new STLA Large electric platform. This is the future for the Stellantis group, which hopes to offer the best performance and autonomy thanks to its 800 volt technology. It will be used in particular with a model such as the electric Dodge Charger Daytona SRT and other sports or high-end references.

For the figures, Peugeot announces a maximum power of 500 kW (680 hp) with two motors, which makes it possible to have a 4-wheel drive vehicle. The 0 to 100 km/h will be achieved in less than 3 seconds. Autonomy is estimated at 800 km with ultra-fast and induction charging.

Of course, the Inception concept also incorporates many other novelties concerning its interior and exterior design, the materials and technologies used for its design. Certain design elements should also be found on several models in the range from 2025.

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