CAR interviews Patrick le Quément on Renault design (2009)

By Richard Yarrow

Motor Industry

29 April 2009 16:05

Patrick le Quément, 64, has steered Renault through one of its most interesting – some would say controversial – design phases in its history. Born in Marseilles but educated from the age of 12 in the UK, he speaks almost accentless English and agrees to talk to CAR on the eve of his retirement.

Le Quément is one of those designers who’s achieved stellar recognition over the past two decades – matching the reputation of Chris Bangle and J Mays as a member of the design A-list, that exclusive club who’ve helped shape the modern motor car as we know it today. We might not like all their cars, but they've certainly been influential.

He retires later this year, to be succeeded by ex-Mazda man Laurens van den Acker. But don’t underestimate le Quément’s legacy. He designed the last-generation Ford Cortina and its subsequent replacement, the Sierra, during his watch at Ford. At Renault he introduced genuinely novel monobox designs such as the original Twingo and Scenic, as well as the groundbreakingly radical Vel Satis and Avantime, plus consumer products from watches to yachts, motorbikes to bicycles.

Seemingly liberated by his impending retirement, CAR tackled him on the more controversial aspects of his reign at Renault. Highlights published over the next four pages include:

• Le Quément reveals the personal favourites and flops of his career
• Renault’s plans for reviving the sporting Alpine brand
• Why the Renault board overruled le Quément’s preferred Vel Satis design
• How car design is changing in the 21st century
• What his successor should do at Renault
• How the Renault Avantime came about
• Le Quément’s plans for his retirement

By Richard Yarrow