zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
Legendary Designer Robert Opron Dies, Aged 89
Legendary Designer Robert Opron Dies, Aged 89-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:23

Image for article titled Legendary Designer Robert Opron Dies, Aged 89

If you know the name Robert Opron, you know what it means: a legacy of cars designed to reflect light in a certain way, ones shaped like the organic structures that inspired them. You’ll know the unique beauty of a Simca, a Renault, or a Citroën, French classics that defined an entire generation. Opron has died on29 March, 2021 in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, France at the age of 89.

Opron had an eye for the avant-garde when it came to styling cars, and with a career beginning in the 1960s, he had plenty of time to flex his skills. He designed the wild, bubble-topped and studied under the man who designed the Citroën DS, Flaminio Bertoni.

But Opron’s first masterpiece is widely regarded to be the 1970 Citroën SM, a flamboyant luxury car shaped like a teardrop and decked out with a Maserati engine. Its shape tapered to the rear end, where it cut off sharply with a panel covering the rear wheel wells. It was one of the first production cars to really aim at perfecting aerodynamics, with its drag coefficient clocking in at 0.336. There’s a reason why the Queen of England was escorted around in it.

He regarded his favorite project as being the CX, which included many of the same styling cues of the SM. Opron lent a stylish hand to the four-door sedan, which many folks considered to be a boring executive’s car with no room for excitement. He recognized that you didn’t have to sacrifice a unique look for practicality’s sake.

To add to his legacy, the SM was Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1972, and the GS was European Car of the Year in 1971, and the CX in 1975. You don’t see that level of across-the-board acknowledgment every day.

After leaving Citroën, Opron headed to Renault, where he helped design the Alpine A310, Renault Fuego, and Renault 25. While these cars were all striking, Opron didn’t quite strike the same vein of critical renown, even if the cars were successes.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
Over 25 Percent Of US EV Owners Install High-Voltage Chargers On Their Own
Over 25 Percent Of US EV Owners Install High-Voltage Chargers On Their Own
Are you confident enough in your DIY skills that you’d feel comfortable installing a high-voltage charging station in your home to maintain your electric vehicle? A recent survey shows that 25.5 percent of Americans that own an electric car with a Level 2 charger think they are. The study...
Jul 9, 2025
How Bad Are The Drivers In Your State? This New Study Has An Answer
How Bad Are The Drivers In Your State? This New Study Has An Answer
I’m fairly certain that everyone is convinced their state has the worst drivers. I’ve lived in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Texas, and I’ve felt that each of those states had to be populated by the worst drivers in the world. I’ve driven across the country countless times and found myself...
Jul 9, 2025
Mercedes Says An Answer To The Porsche Taycan Is Coming
Mercedes Says An Answer To The Porsche Taycan Is Coming
Mercedes is , but Mercedes is still Mercedes, meaning that even if Porsche is out here with the Taycan and Tesla is out here with the Model S Mercedes still has the financial might to catch up. In interviews this week, its executives say that that’s exactly what they’re...
Jul 9, 2025
Fiat And Peugeot's Merger Finally Gets The Green Light
Fiat And Peugeot's Merger Finally Gets The Green Light
Fiat and PSA’s merger is good to go, Hyundai had a bad quarter, and Jeep. All that and more in for October 26, 2020. (: Some of the links below are to paywalled stories. Pay for the journalism you value!) The two companies for some time now, in a...
Jul 9, 2025
QOTD: Which One Do You Want Back?
QOTD: Which One Do You Want Back?
When it comes to cars, I’m more of a hoarder than a flipper. Once something enters my orbit, I’m more inclined to hang on. There are, of course, exceptions. When I was a freshman in college, I bought a 1991 Volkswagen GTI 8V. Cosmetically, it was OK, and it...
Jul 9, 2025
James May Bought Half A Pub And Needs You To Name The Bathrooms
James May Bought Half A Pub And Needs You To Name The Bathrooms
, former host of and current co-host of , has invested in a pub during one of the worst moments in history imaginable to do such a thing, but his main concern is renaming the restrooms. May’s new pub looks nice. It’s called the Royal Oak, an 18th Century...
Jul 9, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved