Peugeot’s Latest Concept – Beneteau

Peugeot is famous for rolling out a huge number of weird and wonderful concept cars over the years, but its latest concept isn’t a car…it’s a boat.

Designed and built by the Peugeot Design Lab, the Sea Drive Concept combines the ergonomics of the Peugeot i-Cockpit that has been seen on its SUV range with the connected Ship Control technology developed by specialists at Beneteau to preview the future direction of powerboat design.

The concept boat is fully functional, and aims to show that he the ergonomic design of the Peugeot i-Cockpit can be utilised in applications other than cars. Peugeot says its i-Cockpit ‘enhances the driveability of a car by increasing driver comfort and concentration’. Or something like that, we drifted off there. Which doesn’t bode well for the boat.

‘The Peugeot i-Cockpit showcases the central values of the Peugeot brand – innovation, design and premium quality,’ said Jean-Philippe Imparato, Peugeot CEO. ‘We are delighted to have had the opportunity to apply the carefully crafted ergonomics and design of i-Cockpit to a different industry and demonstrate its adaptability as a design, particularly as it allowed us to form a partnership with a brand as prestigious as Beneteau.’

French sailing and motorboat brand, Beneteau, has developed a research programme called Advanced Monitoring System (AMS) in order to centralise all useful information for onboard piloting, safety and comfort. The work led to the development of its Ship Control technology that is featured on the Sea Drive Concept.

The on-board interface provides support and assistance for both navigation and onboard comfort, and it allows several tablets to be connected to control onboard lighting and air conditioning, as well as navigation, battery and fuel level checks, electrical and bilge pump management, audio entertainment and engine speed and revs.

Benetau CEO Luca Brancaleon said: ‘It is a great honour to be able to combine our Ship Control technology with the Peugeot i-Cockpit experience. Innovation is one of our hallmarks, so when Peugeot invited us to work on a joint project in the field of connectivity, we agreed immediately. It’s a real pleasure to see these two brands, both pioneers in their own fields, devoting their talents to boating.’

Reference: https://uk.motor1.com/news/223750/peugeot-boat-concept/