Giving the lion back its roar: Gilles Vidal on his time at Peugeot

It’s clear from our first few minutes of talking that Vidal has well and truly grown into the role of a trendsetter. His first important concept may have been good, but there’s a confidence in his manner that says what comes next will be better.

The past dozen or so production cars designed and released since Vidal was appointed have dealt easily with issues previously seen as tough hurdles for Peugeot – finding a beautiful new ‘selling’ shape for the problematic Peugeot 508 saloon, making his unique i-Cockpit design work (six million built and counting) and turning the Peugeot 3008 and Peugeot 5008 SUVs into products that rival even Audi for desirability. His confidence in the role is especially evident as he briskly bats away my next fuzzy question about identifying the latest trends in car design.

“There are as many trends as there are car brands,” he says shortly. “Our job is to embody the technology and efficiency of our particular cars and to fit them to the moral values of modern society. You’ve got to be clever at this to succeed. Design isn’t just a shallow form of communication; it has to have substance. We’re working to make Peugeot design reach into our factories, even to affect the way we build our cars.”

How does this thirst for modernity square with the e-Legend, I ask, the tech-packed, “100% autonomous” concept that speaks 17 languages but recalls the lovely lines of the 504 Coupé, whose heyday was 50 years ago? Vidal and his team called it “retro-futuristic” when they launched it at the 2018 Paris motor show. “People want enjoyment from their cars,” he explains, “and as long as we respect that, we can take our design in any direction we want. Not every car has to be a whiteboard, driving about…”

Does that mean Peugeot might contemplate a heritage model for serious production? Something along the lines of the latest Mini hatchback or Fiat 500? “It’s feasible,” Vidal allows. “The idea appeals to many customers who like old British values or dream of la dolce vita in Italy. Ideas that recognise this are clever and valid, but we’re not going to produce something like the e-Legend as you saw it. I’m not sure we would do something like the Mini or the 500, either, although we’re certainly thinking about what we could do.”

Vidal approves of the retro cast to designs like the Mini and 500 for the way it reassures car buyers to take the step of moving into a new era, such as the electrification age. “We must find ways to associate positivity with the future,” he says. “Look at science-fiction movies today: they tend to be dark and threatening, entertaining but terrible. Never warm and human and positive. We need to find clever ways to make positive associations with new cars, but we’re still working.”

Following Peugeot’s success with the i-Cockpit (it gets half the negative feedback of other aspects of modern cars, according to Vidal), he says he’s actively looking at getting rid of dashboards altogether – an idea made possible by the changes electrification will bring. “We can put airbags in the roof,” says Vidal, “and can make the structural changes in our new electrified platforms, so it’s feasible. We have all the bits and pieces, the components. Making the change in our factories is where the challenge really lies.”

But what about daring designs, I ask? Haven’t we learned from some recent products that differentness sells? Vidal agrees, but he’s keen to make clear that it isn’t so easy to make a Nissan Juke, say, that looks different but also appeals to a wide market, including the all-important older customers who can actually afford to buy the cars.

“You can’t just do crazy cars,” he explains. “You have to be aware of the risks. People see their car as a reflection of their personality and don’t want to look foolish. And they worry about being able to resell what they buy.

“Still, cars like the Juke clearly show there’s more than just an appetite for special cars: people are demanding them. We must make cars that are a lot more expressive. But we must be right. We must feel where the limit is and be consistent with our brand values. It’s not a simple task.”

Will the e-Legend make production?

Peugeot must be getting very close to deciding whether to build a production version of its e-Legend concept, which was very much admired when it was unveiled at the Paris motor show two years ago.