Looking like a serene monolith from another world, Peugeot Design Lab‘s latest project with French piano house Pleyel is a sight for sore eyes…that will provide music to your ears as well.
A futuristic baby grand that boasts architectural lines as sleek as a supercar’s, the new musical piece de resistance is made of traditional wood, a still-essential material that gives the instrument its rich acoustics, but the lid is wrought entirely of carbon fiber.
The single most gorgeous design element is the piano’s single leg—a cantilevered carbon fiber bit of architectural showboating that somehow manages to keep everything together without having the edifice toppling over.
The same “magical” surprise is echoed in the lever-operated lid, which can be pried open with one hand. A gravity-defying device, the lid stays open without the usual stick used to prop piano lids up.
Another first: a mechanism allows the piano to be brought down to the same level as the keyboard, to benefit both the player and his audience. The lowering of the pianist allows him to hear his performance more precisely, and also affords the audience a better view of the artist’s hands as they flutter across the tinkering keys.
Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, the piano is now available for order for €165,000.
