Mobility For The Future: The Peugeot BB1 Concept

Press release
Source: Peugeot

With its BB1 concept car, Peugeot has pushed back the conventions and boundaries of current automobile manufacturing to create a totally new solution to the current and future needs of urban mobility.


Capable of seating four people in a vehicle just 2.5 metres long, the BB1 concept car is a full electric vehicle that reinvents the automobile in every way: architecture, style, interior design, interior space, connectivity – while all the time respecting the environment.

The BB1 concept car, unveiled at the 63rd Frankfurt Motor Show, paves the way for this ideal by pushing back the barriers to bring an innovative, fun, expressive and stylish vehicle. This electric vehicle aims to explore new grounds with regards to urban mobility.

A totally original idea
The design brief for the BB1 was to meet the mobility needs of everyday individuals on a daily basis and provide maximum versatility, a compact size, manoeuvrability (3.5m turning circle) and good performance levels.

To achieve all this, the Peugeot teams faced a real challenge - never before in the history of the automobile has a car been created to accommodate four people in an overall length of just 2.5m. This amazing use of interior space can also be adapted to increase the potential load capacity, even though its "compact" size gives it the ability to park in extremely tight spots - even perpendicular to the pavement.

To meet this challenge, the design of the structure of the passenger compartment has drawn inspiration from two-wheeled vehicles in terms of the ergonomics and controls. The driver controls the vehicle by adopting a novel driving position - more vertical than is usual. This is mainly made possible through the absence of foot pedals, as in a conventional car.

Access to the vehicle is through the reverse opening doors, while the load area access is through an innovative tail board / tailgate design. The interior can be transformed as required to offer a load volume of up to 160 litres (with four occupants), or 855 litres (with just one person in the car).

An environmentally-efficient vehicle...
Creative - the BB1 breaks new ground with its electric drive system. It is fitted with two electric motors mounted in the rear wheels, designed in association with Michelin. This original set-up maximises the interior space and draws its inspiration from the world of the quad bike. They produce a maximum power output of 15 kW (20hp) - or 7.5 kW per motor, proving the optimum power to weight ratio for the vehicle in its urban driving environment. This ensures the best possible response at start-up (0 to 19 mph in 2.8 seconds) and excellent in-gear acceleration (19 - 37 mph in 4 seconds), ensuring driveability and safety are to the levels expected of a Peugeot.