Eagle Premier

The starting point was a three-box, four-door sedan that was to be followed by a coupe with the same platform. The brief called for a classic car, elegant with a decidedly European feeling without being a product of avant garde design. Giugiaro's proposal was accepted among those of Renault, American Motors and Marcello Gandini’s Styling Centers. His Premier, although a sedan of a classical concept, was characterized by details innovative for the United States market: radiator grille, front headlights, raked windshield and rear window, very high trunk, wrap-around glazed areas with hidden pillars. The clinic tests, however, showed that overall these details were too forward-looking, obliging Giugiaro to back-date his design by a number of years. Aerodynamics were, however, considerable.