This unlikely match-up had never occurred to me before, except for seeing the Peugeot 504 and the Corolla within seconds of each other as I scrolled down our front page. It may be a bit hard to see, but the Corolla sports a very similar and rather unusual break in that line towards its little butt that is highly evocative of the 504’s. When Pininfarina’s 504 appeared in September of 1968, it raised more than a few eyebrows. That unusual droop, starting part ways into the trunk, had never been seen before, and to my mind, not been the object of that sincerest from of flattery (or am I forgetting something?). And the Corolla’s front fender line and C-pillar are also mighty similar. The trademark Pininfarina break line down the middle is missing though. I can’t prove Toyota was looking at the 504’s way, but this second gen Corolla did first see the light of day twenty months after the 504. Plenty of time?
The silhouette of the Infiniti J30 has softer corners, but it has an oddly drooping butt, as well. The third-gen Taurus does, too, to a lesser degree.
The fact that the break in the 504s trunk hasn’t been replicated makes it even that much more charming to me. How many styling feautures can you come up with that are unique to only one car?
And what the Corolla also lacks is the trapezoidal front end of the 504, the pinching of the hood and the front end from sides to middle that is replicated in the headlights, the side view mirrors, and even the 504 logo itself. it’s that kind of attention to detail that I’ve always liked in the 504.
And finally, I dont think Pininfarina still acknowledges (at least on their web site) that they designed the 504, only the 504 Cabriolet (which is really beautiful).
It wouldn’t be the last time Toyota cribbed from Peugeot. The 1997 Toyota Carina is a dead ringer for the 1987 Peugeot 405.