The Shape of Tomorrow: 2025 Peugeot Polygon Concept

The unveiling of the 2025 Peugeot Polygon Concept is not merely the introduction of a new show car; it is the most concrete and radical declaration yet of the French automaker’s future direction. This compact, sub-four-meter electric prototype is a functioning philosophy distilled into a geometric form, successfully condensing the brand’s commitments to revolutionary driver interfaces, radical sustainability, and an aggressive new design language that nods to its hatchback heritage. More than just a flight of fancy, the Polygon is a dynamic testbed for innovations—chief among them the game-changing Hypersquare steer-by-wire system—that Peugeot promises will enter production vehicles as early as 2027.

At its heart, the Polygon is a complete reimagining of the compact car experience, moving far beyond incremental changes. The most immediate and striking aspect of this transformation is the interior, which centers around the highly anticipated Hypersquare.

The Hypersquare: A New Era of Driver Interface

The core of the Polygon Concept’s innovation lies in its revolutionary steering system. The traditional, circular steering wheel has been replaced by the Hypersquare, a rectangular control interface that resembles an oversized video game controller. This is not simply a stylistic choice; the Hypersquare is the driver-facing component of a new Steer-by-Wire (SBW) system, which eliminates the mechanical connection between the driver's input and the front wheels.

This electronic linkage unlocks a number of key benefits that fundamentally change the act of driving. Firstly, the steering ratio becomes variable and speed-adaptive. At low speeds, such as during parking or tight urban maneuvering, the system requires minimal input—a maximum rotation of just 170 degrees in each direction to go from lock-to-lock. This dramatically reduces the physical effort and 'hand-over-hand' movement required with a traditional wheel. Conversely, at higher speeds, the ratio tightens, ensuring supreme precision and stability with only minute inputs. Peugeot promises this SBW system will deliver "exceptional responsiveness and hyper-agility," while simultaneously filtering out unwanted road vibrations, marrying an immersive digital experience with superior tactile feedback.

The Hypersquare itself is an ergonomic masterpiece. Key vehicle controls are consolidated into four touch-sensitive pods positioned at the corners of the rectangle, placing all essential functions directly at the driver’s fingertips without the need to move their hands from the primary control area. This focus on intuitive, electronic control elevates the Polygon's cabin far beyond its supermini segment.

The Immersive i-Cockpit and Geometric Design

In conjunction with the Hypersquare, the Polygon debuts a next-generation i-Cockpit architecture that rethinks the traditional dashboard entirely. The conventional gauge cluster and central infotainment screen are gone, replaced by a Micro-LED reflective panel discreetly embedded behind the Hypersquare. This panel projects all essential driving information—speed, navigation, charge status directly onto the windscreen, creating an Augmented Reality Head-Up Display equivalent to a massive 31-inch screen that spans the driver’s line of sight.

This "windscreen as screen" concept achieves a remarkably clean, uncluttered, and spacious cabin aesthetic. The sensation of roominess is further amplified by the absence of the B-pillar and the dramatic twin butterfly doors, which allow for a light-flooded, glass canopy-like interior.

The exterior design is a dramatic departure from the current Peugeot aesthetic, yet contains knowing nods to its past. The name 'Polygon' is self-evident, defined by its crisp, taut lines and pure geometric surfaces. It abandons the flowing, fluid shapes popular in recent years for an angular, almost architectural stance—a design language that is both strong and minimalist. The iconic 'three-claw' light signature is reimagined in a striking horizontal Micro-LED arrangement, capable of dynamic animation and colour changes that synchronise with the interior lighting and drive modes (such as ‘Cruise,’ ‘Fun,’ and ‘Hyper’). A particularly clever detail is the dedicated Micro-LED screen on the C-pillar, which allows users to check the battery charge level at a glance from outside the car. While the futuristic elements are abundant, the car’s overall compact proportions and squared-off rear clearly pay homage to beloved classics like the Peugeot 205 hatchback.

A Manifesto for the Circular Economy

Beyond the headline technology, the Polygon Concept makes an exceptionally strong statement on sustainability and modularity—the quiet heroes of its design. Peugeot views the concept as an active agent in the circular economy, focusing on minimizing parts count and maximizing the use of recycled and reusable materials.

The entire construction is simplified to aid disassembly and recyclability. The revolutionary seats, for example, consist of just three main components (a 3D-printed R-PET recycled plastic shell, a structure, and a single-piece molded foam) compared to the dozens of parts in a traditional car seat. Furthermore, the seat foam, along with key dashboard elements and even the Hypersquare controller, can be swapped out in minutes. This modularity supports the concept’s overall philosophy of treating the car as a highly customizable and adaptable object, allowing the owner to easily refresh colours, textures, and even steering wheel shape to match changing tastes or functional needs. Peugeot highlights this with three thematic configurations: Urban, Player, and Explorer.

The material choices are equally progressive: the floor and roof lining are covered in a "forged textile" woven from the recycled materials of dismantled Peugeot seats, and the interior paint lacquer contains components recycled from end-of-life tires. Even the customised Goodyear tires, laser-engraved with dynamic patterns, feature integrated sensors that feed real-time data to the i-Cockpit display. This holistic approach to materials and engineering positions the Polygon as a true pioneer in end-of-life vehicle management.

Conclusion: A Concept with a Production Timeline

The 2025 Peugeot Polygon Concept is a seminal concept car, unique in its refusal to remain abstract. Peugeot has committed to bringing its core technologies to market, giving this showpiece a rare, tangible relevance. The Polygon is not just a glimpse into the future; it is a meticulously engineered, drivable vision of the brand’s next generation of compact electric vehicles, most likely previewing the next Peugeot 208.

Its greatest achievement is the complete reinvention of the primary driver-vehicle relationship through the Hypersquare and Steer-by-Wire system, which manages to be both more intuitive and more digitally engaging than the current norm. This, combined with a bold, geometric aesthetic and an uncompromising focus on modularity and recycled materials, establishes a new benchmark for what a sub-compact vehicle can represent in the electric age. The Polygon is the lion’s new roar, a promise of a future where driving is simpler, cleaner, and radically more connected.