Our driverless cars will be sexy, says Peugeot

Peugeot design chief Gilles Vidal says autonomous driving technology could herald a golden age for car design, but only if car designers wake up to its potential.

And he claims the stunning Peugeot e-LEGEND concept car that was revealed last week at the Paris motor show is evidence of the French car-maker taking its first step towards to creating a more cheerful and positive future, says its designer.

"We see loads of prototypes looking like little pods, which can be fine and look like a science fiction movie, but there's a danger the future might be very robotic and might lack soul.

"In fact, if you watch most science fiction films the future is always dark and terrible. There's no happy science fiction movie. I think designers should be more positive and look forward to a bright and interesting future,” said Vidal, pointing to the inspiration behind his latest concept, the star of this year's Paris show.

"What we're saying is you could take vintage shapes, it could be cool. Of course, our car still has all the same connectivity and functionality of a futuristic autonomous car."

In the future, Vidal says people will put the focus back on a car's design, despite it being driverless.

"A car could be a cool thing to have as an object again – of course, it can still cope with the early morning and evening rush hour through Paris."

Peugeot's design boss predicts that, come 2025 when fully autonomous cars will start rolling out, there will be a mixture of pod-like vehicles, cars like the e-LEGEND and normal cars that just happen to have full autonomous driver aids.

"I hope in the future there will be a variety of solutions."

In the design of the e-LEGEND, the small 504-inspired coupe's pure-electric powertrain helped designers explore different proportions.

It allowed a light, spacious and airy cabin as all the air-conditioning hardware could be packaged in the space normally occupied by a traditional petrol or diesel engine. Same goes for the folding steering wheel mechanism that glides into the dash when in driverless mode.

"Funnily enough, the classical proportions allow the futuristic interior to function,” said Vidal.

Despite paying homage to the original 504 and featuring a colourful velvet interior, Vidal insists the e-LEGEND isn't retro.

"We obviously wanted it to be recognisable as a 504 coupe – the silhouette relates to the original.

“But apart from the overall silhouette and the form language of the overall car -- the lines -- there's nothing from the old car. It's just modern surface treatment,” said the Peugeot designer.

When asked if he wants to see the e-LEGEND put into production, Vidal replied instantly "I'd love to", before pointing out that, from day one, the e-LEGEND was designed like a 'real' car.

"We made it in a realistic manner -- even the wheel size is the same as a production car – it's not far from reality. OK, maybe the front overhang is too short for regs..."

Vidal’s wish may come true as his design team's new concept was not only well-received by show goers but got the blessing of his hard-to-please boss, Jean-Philippe Imparato.

"This is not just one special,” Imparato told journalists. “This underlines the way we are writing the future with pleasure. We don't want a car of seven metres. We want a car with pleasure with driving.

"I'm proud of our history. I consider we should do more than we did to write the future," said the Peugeot CEO.