  We present a spectroscopic study that reveals that the metal-insulator
transition of strained VO$_2$ thin films may be driven towards a purely
electronic transition, which does not rely on the Peierls dimerization, by the
application of mechanical strain. Comparison with a moderately strained system,
which does involve the lattice, demonstrates the crossover from Peierls- to
Mott-like transitions.
