Peugeot Quark is a concept car

Concept car

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

 from Peugeot

Peugeot

Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...

, rather like a four wheeled motorcycle/quad-bike

All-terrain vehicle

An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...

. The Quark was first displayed at the 2004 Paris Motor Show.

It utilises hydrogen fuel cell

Fuel cell

A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...

s and has an electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

 on each of the four wheel

Wheel

A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...

s. All four motors combined give the Quark 30kW

Kw

kw or KW may refer to:* Kuwait, ISO 3166-1 country code** .kw, the country code top level domain for Kuwait* Kilowatt* Self-ionization of water Kw* Cornish language's ISO 639 code* Kitchener–Waterloo, Ontario, Canada...

 or 40hp

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

. It can drive approximately 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) before it requires refueling. The Quark is 2.38 metres (93.7 in) long and 1.5 metres (59.1 in) wide. The empty weight is 450 kg (992 lb) and its top speed is 110 km/h (68 mph). It can accelerate to 50 km/h (31 mph) in 6.5 seconds, and can carry two people with an additional load of 140 kg (309 lb). Although it may look like an ATV

All-terrain vehicle

An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...

, it is considerably larger and not designed for true off road

Off-roading

Off-roading is a term for driving a vehicle on unsurfaced roads or tracks, made of materials such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain.-Off-road vehicle:...

 conditions. Because of its low ground clearance and short range, it would be more suitable for short trips in the city.

Though the Quark received praise by many because of its exotic and unusual design, the Quark in its current form will not go into production. It does give a glimpse of what we might expect from Peugeot in the future however, especially when the fuel cell technology powering the vehicle has been perfected. It can now be seen in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie

Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie

The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is the biggest science museum in Europe. Located in Parc de la Villette in Paris, France, it is at the heart of the Cultural Center of Science, Technology and Industry , a center promoting science and science culture.About five million people visit the Cité...

on the second floor of its exhibition site.

External links

• Auto124 article on the Quark