French carmaker Peugeot has just unveiled one of its highlights for the upcoming 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Peugeot HX1 Concept. The concept car is a combination between an MPV and crossover and it is based on the upcoming Citroen DS5. The new luxury crossover from the French carmaker will debut at the company’s stand at the Frankfurt show and continues Peugeot’s concept car range started with the SR1 and continued with the EX1. Considering some aspects, the car is also somewhat connected to the SXC Concept, but is seen by many as the replacement for the 607 or the 807 models. However, since Peugeot officials already called the current 507 the 607’s successor, chances are the new HX1 concept will be the starting point for the 807 replacement.
According to Peugeot’s press release, the design language used for the HX1 is called Metamorphosis, a name inspired from the Greek god of transformation and successfully combines several body types: coupe, wagon and MPV, the total length being of almost 5 meters (16 feet). Actually, about all of the car’s dimensions are impressive: the length is almost 2 meters (6.5 feet) and the height is 1.4 meters (4.5 feet), which hardly recommends the car as a crossover.
Looking at the exterior , the HX1 concept’s design is obviously influenced by recent concept car and production version, whether we’re talking about the SR1, the EX1 or the already available 508. The massive front grille, a trademark of Peugeot’s current range (except for the 508) is gone and made room for a more elegant one, while the car’s aerodynamic coefficient is very impressive, only 0.28. And considering the car is presented as a crossover, the figure is even more impressive, considering there are carmakers out there that don’t have this coefficient on mid-sized or compact models.
On the interior, the Peugeot HX1 offers a six-seat arrangement, structured on three rows. The last row is flexible and the seats can be folded down or moved in front, following the Peugeot HR1’s example. As for the powertrain, the HX1 Concept is a plug-in hybrid, based on Peugeot’s famous Hybrid4 technology, which combines a 204 hp HDI engine with a 95 hp electric motor, delivering a total of 299 hp. The engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and the electric motor is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack that can be recharged from a regular power outlet. In full electric mode the car has a driving range of 30 km (18 miles) and when running in dual mode it get an estimated fuel economy of 3.2 liters per 100 km (73.5 US mpg).
So far, Peugeot hasn’t reached a decision about the production version of this model (or at least it didn’t make it public), but our guess is that they’re waiting to see the public feedback they get after the car makes its official debut in about two weeks, at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.