Peugeot and the revolution of the rectangular steering wheel: An interview with its creator

Taking advantage of his appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Motor1.com spoke to Matthias Hossann, Peugeot's Design Director, creator of the timeless Peugeot e-Legend icon and the man responsible for shaping the brand's future.

In the following lines, we talk to Hossann about the elements that will mark the identity of Peugeot's forthcoming launches, how to combat the Chinese and the limitless creativity of a designer who began his career with the Stellantis Group by 'designing' the second generation Citroën C3, who takes pleasure in every project and for whom his best car 'will always be the next one'.

How does the design language translate for the 9X8 racing car?

I consider the 9X8 to be one of the most exciting cars you can see on the track [in WEC]. When you create a race car, it's all about performance. But when the 9X8 project was launched, we had the opportunity to incorporate a lot more brand DNA, because of the regulations.

In the past, endurance cars lacked a bit of brand identity and design. For a non-specialist, it was difficult to know which car it was. So right from the start of the project, we worked with Peugeot Sport Engineered to implement our DNA in a more radical way than on a production car.

I think the car has struck a good balance between design and performance, with unique details such as the light signature, which on the night of Le Mans makes the car instantly recognisable as a Peugeot, but also with the new livery, which was designed by my team.

Peugeot 9X8 en las 24 Horas de Le Mans 2024

Will the new Hypersquare be the brand's next revolution?

Early last year, at CES in Las Vegas, we unveiled a concept car called Peugeot Inception, which was more than just a concept car. It was a manifesto, the brand's vision for the future. A new design language for Peugeot, with a new steering wheel, which is no longer a steering wheel, but a driving device.

This is possible thanks to by-wire technology (no physical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels), which is very interesting in terms of agility and driving performance and which we want to exploit in terms of design.

That's why we've opted for a universal, rectangular shape that's very comfortable to drive, and which will appear in some production cars in 2026. It will change the driving experience, it will increase driving pleasure. In short, it will increase excitement, and that's what we want to embody in our next generation of interiors.

Peugeot Inception concept 2023, flying

Does this project come from the designers or is it the work of engineers?

If you follow Peugeot's interior logic, over the last 10 to 12 years we have designed a strong interior, with what we call a high cockpit concept [i-Cockpit], with a small steering wheel and information above.

We already had an idea of what the next generation of this concept would look like, with by-wire technology, which is not new, but it's time to bring it to market in a production car.

With this technology, you don't have to turn the steering wheel more than twice, which makes the vehicle more agile. We talked to the engineers, we also tested a few cars, a few prototypes, and we thought this was the perfect technology to implement to build the next generation of driving experience for Peugeot. To accompany this technology, we created a unique steering wheel, a new device. The process unfolded in the following order.

Peugeot Inception concept 2023, interior design

Is this rectangular shape better than the Tesla yoke?

When we designed it, honestly, we created, I don't know, 30 different steering wheels. We tried almost everything in terms of shape, and we did it in a very pragmatic way. In fact, we did tests, and everyone has a different way of driving a car, but when you use something like the yoke, it can be difficult for some users.

That's why we came up with this rectangular shape, which is comfortable. As we're a mainstream brand, we have to design a car for almost everyone. That was the starting point, we tried different shapes until we came up with the rectangular shape, which is different and distinctive.

The fact that we designed the steering wheel in this way also creates a new interaction with the car, and also because we want to attract a younger audience. Rectangular steering wheels are the future. I hope they are.

Matthis Hossan con el precio Car Design Award 2021

What was special about the Peugeot E-Legend?

There was something special about it. It was incredible. When we launched the car, we didn't expect such a reaction from people. We found an interesting balance between respecting the rules established by Peugeot and projecting the brand's DNA into the future.

We have been clear and, frankly, in the past we have considered the possibility of doing this. But as you know, our focus is on creating profitable projects. That's why the E-Legend hasn't gone into production.

Peugeot E-Legend Concept

Retro design, interesting or a waste of time?

I don't think it's stupid. I think it depends on the brand. It can be interesting, but at the same time, it can be dangerous if you play with it too much. Sometimes it's good to use a certain heritage, but there comes a time when it's difficult to create if you look too much in the rear-view mirror.

In Peugeot's case, it's one of the oldest car companies in the world, but at the same time, when you focus too much on the past, it's hard to look to the future. For me, it's a question of balance.

The main question today is how Peugeot will be competitive in the future, against all the newcomers. Every week, there's a new brand in the world. So I think the challenge is there for Peugeot. It's not really about retro design. It's about what will make Peugeot unique in the face of all this competition.

Peugeot e-Legend Concepty Peugeot 504 Coupé

The key to differentiating Peugeot from the Chinese brands?

You can buy technology, you can buy anything. You can buy a brand, but it's difficult to buy a heritage. You can't invent that heritage, and I think that's what's fantastic about Stellantis, because we are 14 brands, but all different and with a strong history. I think that's something we need to emphasise, because it's something you can't buy.

Read also:

Did you say £227,250 for a Peugeot 205?

Peugeot 407 (2004-2011): Classic of the future?

Is it possible to design without limits?

That's a difficult question, but honestly, I think it's difficult to design things without any limits. For me, it's good to design things when you have limits, because that's when you can be creative.

Most of the time, it's just as exciting to design a 9X8 or a van. It can be just as complicated, because you have such a high level of constraints that you have to find the right level to get it right and bring out the Peugeot DNA.

I'm always excited about a project, because for me it's like starting from scratch. I love designing a car, whether it's a city car, a van or a sports car. I think that's the magic of design, because you have to be creative, whatever the subject, you have to push the boundaries, you can't be conservative in your design.

Peugeot 9X8 en las 24 Horas de Le Mans 2024

What is your assessment of the i-Cockpit?

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We started with the i-Cockpit about 12 years ago, and there are already more than 12 million cars on the road with this concept, a unique Peugeot architecture. And as we've already said, this concept will evolve further with Hypersquare, the next stage in the new generation of the i-Cockpit.

So we're going to continue with this architecture. It's interesting, because as one of the oldest car manufacturers in the world, we're showing that we can reinvent ourselves, and I think it's also a way of beating all the new competitors, through creativity.

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