Peugeot BB1 Concept

Unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Peugeot BB1 Concept is a vision of a compact urban vehicle that maximizes versatility and agility.
The BB1 is based on a tubular chassis designed by Peugeot Motorcycles, and the body is made up of carbon fibre. The weight is limited to 600 kg.
Among the exterior styling cues are the extended wheelarches, low door waistline, reverse opening doors and the double bubble roof, similar to the RCZ, which integrates solar cells.
The cabin features large glazed surfaces and motorcycle-inspired controls.
The BB1 is powered by two rear-mounted electric motor, each developing 20hp, coupled with two lithium-ion battery packs located under the rear seats, which allow for a range of 75 miles.

From the official Press Release:

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 architecture, style, interior design, interior space, connectivity – while respecting the environment.
The BB1 concept car, unveiled at the 63rd Frankfurt Motor Show, aims to explore new grounds with regards to urban mobility.

Design

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 - 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).
The style of the vehicle highlights the interior space and the unique driving position. With its bold styling lines at the front, large glazed surface area, low door waistline (for the passenger compartment ventilation system) and extended wheel arches, the car represents a move away from current vehicle design.
Technology details include the "full LED" front headlights and rear view cameras.
The double bubble roof, similar to the RCZ, helps with the feeling of space within the vehicle, as does the openness and brightness created by the large glazed surface areas.
The BB1 includes an extensive range of interactive technologies. The colour multi-function display and the vehicle's audio system provide the ideal link for all the functionalities of a “smart phone”: telephone, navigation, Internet access, radio, MP3.
Universal and user-friendly, this system enables the BB1 to provide a range of essential services without the need for multiple pieces of equipment, bringing extra safety to driving and saving considerable weight.
Similarly, the rear-view cameras remove the need for mirrors, optimising the width of the vehicle and improving its aerodynamics, while adding to the high-tech feeling of the interior.

Powertrain

The BB1 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 good driveability and safety.
The power for the vehicle is provided by two lithium-ion battery packs supplying energy to the respective electric motors located under the right and left-hand rear seats, with a comfortable range of 75 miles.
This layout avoids any reduction in the interior space or the available storage space. Furthermore, this location between the front and rear wheels helps with the weight distribution of the vehicle and benefits vehicle stability, especially during braking.

Structure

The BB1 uses a tubular chassis designed by Peugeot Motorcycles. It still, however, includes all normal “car” dynamic systems: electric power steering, suspension (double-wishbone front and rear suspension), friction damper spring assemblies.
The body is made up of a very light carbon fibre structure, designed to wrap around the passenger compartment, all of which enables potential future customisation and a possibility of a variety of vehicle shapes.
Finally, the vehicle weight does not exceed 600 kg, including the batteries, enabling all its mechanical parts to be placed in their ideal position, ensuring optimal weight distribution.

Solar Cells

The BB1's solar panels were designed in partnership with the Ocean Vital foundation. Flexible (enabling their usage on surfaces as complex as the dual-bubble roof of the BB1), they provide a high yield of around 16% of energy captured (a much higher performance than current systems) to power some of the vehicle’s systems.
At a standstill, the passenger compartment ventilation keeps operating in daylight thanks to the solar panels placed on the roof of the vehicle.
This enables two functions: pre-ventilation of the interior and the trapping of pollutants and ultra-fine dust particles (μm), due to the use of high-performance filters and activated carbon.

The name BB1

The name "BB1" isn't only a reference to Peugeot's history and the "Baby Peugeot" models of 1905 and 1912.
This ultra-compact, lightweight electric vehicle concept is also something of a throwback to the Peugeot VLV. Three hundred and seventy seven of these were built between 1941 and 1945, meeting the then special needs of users throughout the Second World War.