The Pininfarina Nautilus is a concept car labelled as a Peugeot and loosely based on a Peugeot 605. It is badged with the Peugeot emblem to remind onlookers of the links between Pininfarina and the French car company since 1951. Perhaps as significant is the indication that the Italian design house deems the mass production four-door saloon market to be a design issue they wish to address on a commercial level.

The last Pininfarina four-door was produced in 1980. It was deemed not to be in keeping with the company direction and was never taken any further. However, various aspects of its design appeared in production cars around the world in the following years. The Nautilus was not intended to be a production car; more as a statement of Pininfarina's ability and forward thinking.

"We had complete freedom with the Nautilus, though there is a hint of Peugeot in some details." says Lorenzo Ramaciotti, head of Pininfarina's Studi e Ricerche design department. " In this respect it is not a concept car - more a show car, a vision from Pininfarina for a luxury sports sedan."

Launched in 1997 and in the 7-series league, it might be said that the Nautilus has already inspired certain features in cars by Alfa Romeo and perhaps Ford. The Alfa 156, particularly in profile, has similarities such as the door handles hidden in the window frame. One of the many unique features with production possibilities is the use of cameras in place of wing mirrors. This is particularly beneficial in reducing wind noise as well as allowing the form of the car to be smoother.

The Nautilus took eight months to develop and construct with a cost of £550,000. The finished car is very close to the original sketches by

Pininfarina