Peugeot's Tri-Motor, 805 HP E-T16 Rally Beast Could Hit The Market

Peugeot already makes some very striking cars, the brand took things to a whole new level last week in Paris, unveiling the crazy E-T16 Concept. All too often, concept cars are just silly design exercises that'll never see the light of day, but in this case, Peugeot says its dramatic creation could hit the market, and it might not even take that much work to make it happen.

The French brand created the wild E-T16 to commemorate 40 years since it won the WRC titles in 1985 and 1986. The concept takes inspiration from that legendary rally car, but morphs it into a hyperhatch akin to Renault's 5 Turbo 3E. The Peugeot not only looks the part, but it has the performance to back it up.

While speaking with Autocar, Peugeot chief executive Alain Favey noted the concept uses the STLA One platform. This is the new global modular architecture which Stellantis unveiled earlier this year. It will support more than 30 EV, hybrid, and combustion-powered models, and will be used by Peugeot first. Thanks to this common platform, building the E-T16 won't be an issue.

"We can make it. The car is based on STLA One. We have a lot of elements from the new e-208. We can make it as it is, as you see it here. We can make this car next year. Let's see," Favey revealed. "That's an easier exercise in a way, to say 'let's make a car that makes you dream but at the same time a car that we can make'. It's at least a car we can make. It's technically feasible."

Perhaps the real headline for this stunning concept is the fact that it uses two electric motors at the rear axle and one at the front, delivering a combined 805 horsepower and giving the EV a 0-62 mph (100 km/h) sprint time of just 2.5 seconds. While it'd be easy to presume Peugeot will cut those figures for production, Favey actually sounds optimistic that a tri-motor hyperhatch with such absurd levels of performance is possible.

"[805bhp], this and that and the other, they are real facts," he said. "If we make this car, we can make it. That's the performance we can get to."

If the E-T16 is built, it would sit at the top of the Peugeot line-up, providing the brand with the high-powered halo it's been desperately missing. In all likelihood, production would be extremely limited, and the car would be extraordinarily expensive. But if it is built, it could inspire future models that are hopefully more accessible. If Peugeot built a cheaper version, perhaps with 400 hp and the same rally-inspired looks, it would have a proper competitor to the Audi RS3 and Mercedes-AMG A 45 S. Sign us up.