Peugeot Indy 500 Race Car Concept Is a Futuristic Thriller

Destined to be a competition-crushing track monster.

In commemoration of  Peugeot‘s 1916 Indy 500 victory, the French automaker has dreamed up a tribute concept car, the L500 R Hybrid. Peugeot says its 500 combined horsepower from its twin electric motors and 270-horsepower gasoline engine will launch the L500 R Hybrid to 60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds.

In the tradition of the time, the 1916 race-winning L45 was a two-seat race car, but the L500 R Hybrid is a single-seater that proposes taking a passenger along for a virtual ride using a VR headset connected to the car’s sensors.

Even the driver gets to participate in the virtual experience, as instrumentation is provided by dual holograms of the Peugeot’s gauges. 

“With Peugeot L500 R Hybrid we’re paying tribute to Peugeot racing exploits dating to the early 20th century,” explained Matthias Hossann, Peugeot’s concept car and technological advance chief, in the company’s press release. “Inspired by this spirit of performance and innovation we wanted to convey a sculptural, elegant and technological view of the future of Peugeot motor sport.”

The company terms the L500 R Hybrid a “prospective concept,” so for now it exists only in the virtual world. But the Paris Motor Show is in October, so maybe we’ll see this incredible machine in the metal at the show, when French manufacturers go all-out to impress.

A real L500 R Hybrid would surely accomplish that.