Inside the next-gen Peugeot 508 EV with Hypersquare steering wheel, astronaut glass windscreen and astonishing 0-60 time

ASTRONAUT glass. Beer tray steering wheel. Widescreen telly. You’re looking at the next Peugeot 508.

I’m being serious.

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Peugeot’s radical concept car points to what the next generation of EVs will look like[/caption]

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The Hypersquare steering wheel has steer-by-wire technology – it means your wrists won’t get tied up like a pretzel[/caption]

This radical concept car points to the next-gen electric saloon due in 2026.

The low-slung body is exaggerated but doable. We like it.

So, too, is that Hypersquare steering wheel.

It’s possible because it uses steer-by-wire technology, which has no mechanical connection to the wheels.

At low speed, the front wheels turn sharply with a small movement of your hands. So your wrists don’t get tied up like a pretzel.

At high speed, the wheels move less. Variable ratio, innit.

The Hypersquare folds away when the car is being charged, so the driver can watch TV on the pop-up panoramic screen.

Ditto when the car is in autonomous mode, apparently.

But we’re not holding out for that.

As for the glass, the giant windscreen is specially treated with multi-chrome metal oxides, like the visor on a Nasa astronaut’s helmet. It deflects heat and is anti-glare.

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The giant windscreen is specially treated with multi-chrome metal oxides, like the visor on a Nasa astronaut’s helmet[/caption]

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You can also watch TV on the pop-up panoramic screen[/caption]

Sounds expensive. But it’s needed. Because this car is like sitting in a greenhouse, albeit with recycled crushed-velvet seats and blue strips of light that give it a cocktail-bar vibe at night.

This concept car is called Inception, which means “the beginning”.

It also previews Peugeot’s new family face – the usual three-claw lights but incorporated in a hi-tech grille – which will be adopted first by the next 3008.

Now for some numbers. Inception is powered by a 100kWh battery delivering 497 miles of range.

It can add 93 miles of juice every five minutes, thanks to 800v charging tech. Which means you won’t be watching TV for long.

Two electric motors, one on each axle, produce a stonking 680hp with a 0-62mph launch time of less than three seconds.

Jeezus.

Point it skywards and you’ll be needing that astronaut glass for real.

I’m guessing the price will be pretty astronomical too.

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The car has an astonishing 0-60mph launch time of less than three seconds[/caption]

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But it’s a good guess that the price will also be pretty astronomical[/caption]