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Mars Racer XRC Branded Peugeot - I Bet Matt Damon Wished He had One in Mars

I remember playing with cars when I was a kid, and if my memory serves me right, this is exactly how I imagined them in my mind. It’s no wonder my eyes dilated and suddenly everything seemed clearer when I first laid my sight on the design.
Peugeot XRC 11 photos
Photo: Tiago Aiello / Behance
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Every once in a while, we find an idea that maybe didn’t get enough praise at the time it arose, or purely and simply, it has sparked a whole new genre of vehicles that we just aren't able to manifest yet. I feel this may be the case with the Peugeot XRC.

Now personally, I'm just an adult sized kid, so when I first saw the XRC my eyes lit up. Now, I didn’t go fully bonkers, but parts of my childhood did flash before my eyes. It first reminded me of a sci-fi F1 car, or simply the way I saw F1 cars on TV. The next childhood scene that I witnessed was me playing with my old RC cars.

This later vision would prove to be much closer to the truth behind the design than I may have imagined at the time. Upon researching this concept, I found out that the original design for the XRC was made exactly with the idea of an adult-sized RC car. The design of the XRC is one destined for desert rallies and off-road terrain. It sure as hell looks like it, no doubt about that.

Peugeot XRC
Photo: Tiago Aiello / Behance
The design is created by Tiago Aiello of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has a history working as a CGI artist and is currently a Visualization Artist for Volvo and Polestar. This history really shows in these renderings. But I don’t mind one bit. The kid got me dreaming.

The design is a futuristic speed demon. I could very well see this in the next Mars movie. You know, the one about racing on different planets. Seriously just have a look again in the gallery. Notice the huge knobs on the front and back tires. Where have you seen a similar design? On Mars rovers. And it makes sense that all terrain wheels would look something like rover wheels - they're made to tackle unknown and unexpected terrains.

The body is reminiscent of F1 cars. The front dips low, real low, and the only real rise in the frame is caused by the driver pod. Speaking of driver pods, this design only allows one driver at a time. Once the windshield breaks the low body design, it continues to the back, offering a very aerodynamic look that really pulls the eyes in. The sides of the XRC run low and along the driver pod front the front all the way to the back.

Peugeot XRC
Photo: Tiago Aiello / Behance
At the rear, the vehicle really tapers off and brings a very aesthetically pleasing finish to the body. A thin and narrow rear give the overall car a teardrop or even a bit of an hourglass figure. Vertical and slim LED lighting for stop signals work very well with her fine backside. But the true beauty behind the rear lies in the suspension. The entire body is suspended on four massive springs and an axel.

That axel leads to two arms that hold the double-wide wheels in place. The rear tires are also twice as wide as the front tires and about 1/6 larger. This further lifts the vehicles rear and pushes the nose of the car into the ground. At the front two shorter arms are designed directly into the chassis and seem to eliminate the suspension, or we simply cannot see the same suspension set-up as on the back. If that’s true, then the suspension for the front should be built right into the arms.

The driving and steering mechanism for the Peugeot seems to be one based on a static wheel upon which the tires rotate, much like a magnetic propulsion system, or like the drivetrain on the Nawa Racer.

The cockpit of the XRC opens forward to allow the driver to step in all futuristic like. OOO, I just can't wait to see a movie with these things.
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About the author: Cristian Curmei
Cristian Curmei profile photo

A bit of a nomad at heart (being born in Europe and raised in several places in the USA), Cristian is enamored with travel trailers, campers and bikes. He also tests and writes about urban means of transportation like scooters, mopeds and e-bikes (when he's not busy hosting our video stories and guides).
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