‘It represents the quintessence of British sport cars’

French-born, British-educated designer Patrick le Quément provides an outside-in perspective on British car design

Patrick le Quément is one of the most influential car designers to operate in the mass market, styling the Ford Sierra before moving to Renault and announcing, ‘We make cars for people, not the masses.’ He led a design revolution at Renault, bringing to life radical cars like the Megane II, Vel Satis and Avantime. We asked him to cast a critical eye over our seven British classics.

‘Does a more quaint and charming design exist in the automobile scenery?’ le Quément asks of the Morris Minor Traveller. ‘I think not. Of course the sedan resembled so many other cars of that period, be it the VW Beetle or the Renault 4CV, but somehow it has this “cheerful little chap” look with its mouse-like front end that sets it apart. The 1953 Traveller, with its well-proportioned body and wood-framed rear, exuded a charm that one associates with picnic baskets and Earl Grey tea in real bona fide china tea sets.

‘The Jaguar E-type is a masterpiece in voluptuous sculpture, organic yet so well controlled. If the position and angle of the windshield looks slightly awkward on the coupé, this does not seem to affect the roadster for the worse.’ Le Quément isn’t afraid to criticise British car design’s holy grail, ‘On the other hand, all E-types suffer from a noticeable design weakness in the inward positioning of the wheels within the bodywork, making the car look over-bodied. All in all I forgive that flaw because it is such a gorgeous and emotional design statement.

‘The TR4 is, to my eyes, Michelotti’s most successful design for Triumph. It contains this paradox that, even if the designer was Italian, the car is 100 percent British, and it represents the quintessence of British sport cars. This spirit is to be found in its expressivity as well as the raucous note coming out of its tailpipes.’

Regarding the Rover – a car under development at Longbridge at the time when he was a student at Birmingham Institute of Art & Design – le Quément makes an unexpected observation, ‘One of David Bache’s gloriously proportioned designs, with that chopped-top appearance. Obviously the inspiration behind the mid-2000s Chrysler 300C but, whereas one imagined mobsters driving the Chrysler, an elegant tweed-clad gentleman smoking a pipe would definitely emerge from the Rover.’ He’s diplomatic about Cosworth’s alterations to his clean, aero-smoothed Sierra shape, ‘I recall the development of the rear spoiler, which looked to some as an overstatement but communicated to the man in the street that here stood a damned fast motor car!

‘Peter Stevens’ 1987 version of the Lotus Esprit looked like the awakening of a sweet car penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Suddenly, the car acquired an aggressive style as if transplanted with a high performance personality, leaving behind the world of café racers.’

But le Quément reserves special praise for the Aston Martin Vanquish. ‘It’s unmistakably an Ian Callum design, taking its cues from the DB7 but adding steroids and rippling muscles to become something of a muscle car. We are far from the quiet-bodied Touring designs of former times, as we move with the Vanquish into the body of an extroverted athlete, whose eagerness to propel itself from the starting blocks is evident for all to see.’

Design: Between The Lines by Patrick le Quément is available for £35 from Merrell Publishers (www.merrellpublishers.com), with a foreword by Stephen Bayley, complementary texts by Stéphane Geffray and illustrations by Gernot Bracht