The year is almost over and of course we look back extensively on what has happened. Unfortunately, last year we also lost some greats who in one way or another have left their mark on the car industry or what has to do with it.
Gerald Wiegert
Vector W8
The year started with the sad news that Vector founder Gerald Wiegert had passed away at the age of 76. Wiegert created a very special chapter in American automotive history with his creations. That started in the late 1970s with the Vector W2, a no less than 600 hp hypercar that already reached speeds of well towards 400 km/h. Unprecedented for that time. However, that was still a prototype, with the Vector W8 there was a production sequel in the 80s, which even had to be able to exceed 400 km/h. Its successors WX-3 and M12 were much stronger, but remained extremely rare. The 2007 WX-8 also never got a production sequel. The latest concrete news from Vector dates back to 2018. The WX8-christened hypercar is reportedly still under construction, but whether we will ever see more of it now that Wiegert is no longer there… In any case, he leaves an impressive legacy. .
Remy Julienne
The name Rémy Julienne may not mean anything to you right away, but chances are you’ve enjoyed his work at some point. Julienne was one of the most important stuntmen ever. For decades he drove cars spectacularly across the set for numerous films and television series and he is also the mastermind behind some of the most famous car chase scenes. For example, he coordinated the stunts for countless James Bond films and also the legendary chase scene with the Minis from The Italian Job is by Julienne. He passed away in January at the age of 90.
Jean Graton
Jean Graton (right) holding one of his legendary comic books.
Immediately after Julienne’s death, it became known that Jean Graton had also left us. Entire generations grew up with the work of Graton, a French cartoonist. Graton was responsible for the beautiful drawings that adorned the Michel Vaillant series. Not only the drawings but also the stories of Vaillant were the creation of Graton. Graton traveled all over the world with camera and sketchbook to portray international racing as adequately as possible. At a time when motorsport was hardly broadcast on television, he drew and photographed everything he saw and encountered on and around the circuits, and later worked it behind his drawing board into a hyper-realistic storyline. Of course dressed with a ‘voooooooo’ or ‘earlyinnng’. Jean Graton was 97 years old.
Robert Opron
At the beginning of April, a legendary car designer died: Robert Opron. Opron spent much of his 89-year life in the design studio and behind the drawing board, resulting in spectacular cars. Opron was the brain behind iconic designs such as the Citroëns SM, GS and CX and the Renault Fuego. Another important achievement was the latest facelift of the Citroën DS, which at the end of the 1960s got a significantly more modern nose with the double headlights hidden behind glass. Opron did not shy away from controversial lines, as was also apparent from the Alfa Romeo SZ and RZ that he also put on paper. Although the best man is no longer with us, luckily we can still enjoy his work.
Shunji Tanaka
Like Rémy Julienne, Shunji Tanaka was someone who left a great legacy behind the scenes. Tanaka was the man responsible for the final design of the first Mazda MX-5. After a design competition between Japanese and American designers, the American design for the two-seat roadster was put on the table and Tanaka was given the task of making it a more realistic and production-ready model. He succeeded quite well. Motorcycle enthusiasts will undoubtedly have heard of Tanaka’s work: the Japanese wrote the Kawasaki ER-6N and the first Ninja ZX-6R, among other things. Tanaka, 75, died earlier this month.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl