Startlines: Peugeot 508
The story behind a simple sketch that led to a complex design.
Image © Giovanni Rizzo
It may sound difficult to believe in this day and age of utter corporate professionalism, but the Peugeot 508’s design can truly be traced back to a sketching session on a couch at a private home.
«We had already done a few rounds of sketching on the project and were proceeding to scale models,» explains the 508’s exterior designer, Giovanni Rizzo, who was the one holding the pencil, sitting on aforementioned sofa. «Group Director Jean-Pierre Ploué felt we hadn't yet found the right thing and challenged the design team to have another go. As has often been the case throughout my career, the ‘key sketch’ occurred away from my desk at work.»
Abstract though it is, the resultant sketch already betrays a few features of the production 508 that has been on our roads since 2018.
«I had this idea of a strongly tapered cabin, terminating in a relatively narrow rear deck, giving way to muscular rear wings. The rear lamps in those initial sketches sat on top of those wings and framed the deck. Also, there's a subtle nod to the 504 (both sedan and coupé) in the way the main character line has a pronounced kick downwards, as that was a very characteristic element of those cars.»
This kick downwards was to remain confined to Giovanni’s sketchpad, but quite a few other elements remained intact, as this simple sketch was superseded by more elaborate sketches, renderings, clay models and, eventually, the production car.
The end result (photo © Peugeot)
«The rear lamps became more horizontal and stretched to the side of the car, which emphasised the width in a different way - compared to the original, more inset ones. In hindsight, the final solution seems more ‘Peugeot’. The bodyside was also simpler than the final version, and more akin to what would eventually end up on the 2017 Instinct concept. There were good reasons for this though, and in retrospect, I cannot argue with any of them.»
