Peugeot quasar
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Peugeot Quasar, a 205 T16 without limitations

What if Peugeot had used this car in Group B? He had everything to win, and in fact he won, because the mechanical parts came from the 205 T16. And although it is said that it is the first concept in the history of the brand, we are sorry to tell you that this is false.

Prototype. We all know, or at least think we know, what a prototype is, right? According to the exact definition of the word, a prototype is a first model, an example, that serves as a presentation or simulation of the final product. With its creation we want to verify the design and confirm that it has the characteristics planned at first. 

In other words, a prototype is the first step in creating something, representation of project requirements in draft form, for using a simile that is easy to understand. From there, it will evolve and refine details until the final product is achieved, which will end up in the hands of consumers. 

Prototypes are used in all branches of industry, at least in all those that require development prior to the marketing of the product in question. But nevertheless, the automotive (and motorcycle) industry has made prototypes almost an art, creating truly spectacular vehicles that will never reach production, with the simple objective of attracting attention. 

It is true that generally car manufacturers' prototypes hide a lot, many beyond a simple desire to attract attention. Building a prototype is very expensive and investing money with the idea of ​​being looked at does not seem very logical. But it is also not less true that on some occasion, a “concept car” has been made with the intention of achieving this end. 

Leading the way

A prototype or "concept car", as they are also called (concept car in English), is usually the way car brands use to measure public reaction, before different sections. Thus, a prototype is, so to speak, a thermometer, a way of measuring acceptance that will have a new design language, combinations of colors and materials, technologies or a specific type of car. 

All manufacturers make use of prototypes, but they have not been made “forever”. Until the 80s, manufacturers were not very lavish in the manufacture and presentation of these creations. There were, but they were internal experiments that did not always come to light. It was in the 80s when this type of activity began to become popular, Peugeot being one of the instigators of this way of working. 

In the 80s, the French firm presented a vehicle that surprised locals and strangers due to its spectacular nature. A car, the Peugeot 205 T16 Quasar (commonly known as the Peugeot Quasar), which many consider the first prototype of the brand, although in reality it is not correct. Peugeot had already presented several vehicles that can be considered prototypes, such as the 402 Peugeot 1936 “Andreau”, or the strange vehicles that it created in 1925 and 1934, the Peugeot Motorboat Car and the Peugeot A Chainrail respectively. And this without counting the famous Peugeot 404 Diesel Record Car from 1965 or the Peugeot 104 Peugette from 1976

What we can attribute to the Peugeot Quasar is the fact that it is an exercise in style as we know it today., the closest thing to a “showcar”, which was created with the sole objective of serving as a sample of the brand's capabilities. It was the first time that designers and engineers had carte blanche to create a vehicle without the limitations of series production.

A futuristic Group B, with the organs of a World Champion

It was on the occasion of the Paris Motor Show when Peugeot unveiled this device, which had been designed by Gérard Welter, who shaped the Peugeot 205 and who was inspired by several sketches that Eric Berthet had made. The cabin was the responsibility of Paul Bracq, who continued with the trend that had been used for its spectacular exterior appearance and that still today, is still out of the ordinary, although clearly eighties. 

All the work was carried out in the Peugeot design center, in "La Garenne", in France, seeking to surprise with something futuristic and very powerful. A two-seater with a rear central engine and bodywork was created made of carbon fiber and Kevlar, materials that were hardly used in those years. Take the example of Ferrari, which in those years only used these materials in the very special 288 GTO. 

If you are fond of astrophysics, perhaps you can "catch on the fly" the reason for its name. The inspiration for the design of the Peugeot Quasar came, according to what was said at the time, from computing (in those years there was an important moment with the commercialization of the first personal computers), from science fiction and from the aforementioned astrophysics, because when this spectacular prototype was shown, the compression of the quasars had just been achieved, a phenomenon of the universe extremely shocking and with a very large discharge of energy (it is usually formed by the collision of galaxies or black holes). 

Beneath the striking body of the Peugeot Quasar, the rear of which is almost completely exposed, is the structure of the Peugeot 205 T16 and its all-wheel drive system, while the engine is a 1.6-liter block with two turbos and an intercooler, which is around 600 hp and 420 Nm of torque. The change is manual (yes, manual, with a pedal for the clutch) and five relations. The suspensions, meanwhile, derive from Formula 1. 

It is not a "saloon car", it is not a model, it is a fully functional vehicle which is now in the Peugeot Adventure Museum. 

Showing the future of the automobile

One of the functions of a prototype, one that we have not mentioned before, is to anticipate a possible future, show trends or projects that are in development and that sooner or later will reach production. Things like digital instrumentation or the navigator, so common today, in the 80s were more typical of spacecraft and solutions for digital instrumentation were far from what we have in any car today. 

Leaving aside the color chosen for the cabin, which can be either pleasant or frightening (what will a trip be like in an interior like this?), There are a lot of really interesting things. For example, the digital instrumentation (from the 80s ...), was in color and very large, a real screen. In the center of the dashboard, a CRT video screen displayed maps, warning messages or even made it possible to consult teletext or receive Telex messages via wireless connection. 

We cannot compare the current systems with those of the Peugeot 205 T16 Quasar, but their connection is evident, since in the 80's they were already working on the development of different similar systems, whose evolution is what we have today even in a SEAT Ibiza. 

What do you think?

Written by Javi Martin

If you ask me where my love for motoring comes from, I wouldn't know how to answer. It has always been there, although I am the only one in the family who likes this world. My father worked as a draftsman in a metallurgical company with a lot of auto parts production, but there was never a passion like I can have.

I really like automobile history and I am currently creating a personal library dedicated exclusively to motor history in Spain. I also have a huge collection of scanned material and have written the book "The 600, a dream on wheels" (Larousse publishing house).

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