Robert Opron (22 February 1932 – 29 March 2021) was a French
automotive design
Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance (and to some extent the ergonomics) of motor vehicles - including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans.
The functional design and development of a modern m ...
er. He created or collaborated on numerous projects that became production cars for brands that included
Simca,
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
, and
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
. He is best known for his work at
Citroën
Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired 8 ...
, which he joined in 1962 and where he became ''responsable de style'' (head of the design department) in 1964.
Biography
Opron was born in
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
in Picardy, France. His father was in the military and received several postings to locations in French Colonial Africa, so Opron grew up in places like Algeria, Mali and Abidjan.
At 18 years old Opron contracted tuberculosis, and had to spend time in a sanatorium.
He returned to France in 1952 and enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts in Amiens; one year later he transferred to the
École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts
The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French '' grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Scien ...
in Paris.
He studied architecture under
Auguste Perret
Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the ...
.
Altogether Opron spent eight years studying architecture, painting, and sculpture.
At age 21, he married Geneviève Mercier.
In the early 1950s Opron's interest in aircraft led him to take up flying, including acrobatic flying.
In 1952 Opron began his professional career as a machine designer for the Compagnie Nationale des Sucreries in Ham in the Somme.
In 1954 he was hired by aircraft builder Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautices du Nord.
He specialised in cockpit design, and worked on the
Nord Noratlas
The Nord Noratlas was a dedicated military transport aircraft, developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation.
Development commenced during the late 1940s with the aim of producing a suitable aircraft to replace the n ...
aircraft.
Opron began working at
Simca in 1958 at age 26.
Here he designed the Fulgur, a bubble-topped car with tail fins which was to be atomic powered and voice controlled. He also redesigned the Simca Vedette as a parade limousine for Charles de Gaulle.
His department was eliminated in 1961, and Opron received a two-year severance payout, but with a non-compete clause that prevented him from moving to another automaker.
Instead Opron went to ''Arthur Martin'', a company that produced housewares and home appliances, where he became ''Director of Style''.
Opron returned to automotive design with Citroën in 1962.
When Opron first applied to work for Citroën, the chief designer,
Flaminio Bertoni, threw Opron's portfolio on the floor and told him he didn't think much of his work. Three weeks later it transpired that he was merely testing him, and he not only offered him a job, but also became his mentor. Opron went on to design the SM coupé, the GS and the CX, all for Citroën. In 1964 he succeeded Bertoni as Citroën's chief designer.
Over the course of his career Opron became known for balancing a collaborative, team-based approach to design with creative input from individuals.
He finally retired from design work in 2001.
Opron died from complications of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
on 29 March 2021, in
Antony near Paris.
Awards and recognition
Opron was one of twenty-five designers nominated for the 1999
Car Designer of the Century The Car Designer of the Century was an international award given to the most influential car designer of the 20th century. The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation.
The winner, Giorgetto Giugiaro, was announ ...
competition. A celebration of his work, ''OPRON 50 Years of Style'', was held on 11 May 2002 in Verrières-le-Buisson on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
He received
Car Design News
''Car Design News'' (''CDN'') () is an online news and information service for the international automotive design community. ''CDN'' covers production and concept cars, the career moves of significant car designers, major international auto show ...
' Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
Design history
Simca
Having joined Simca in 1958, his first significant project for them was designing the 1959 Simca Chambord Présidence V8 cabriolet used by French president Charles De Gaulle.
In 1959 Opron unveiled the futuristic
Simca Fulgur concept car.
This bubble-topped design was Opron's response to a challenge from the magazine
Journal de Tintin to design a car for the 1980s. The magazine supplied a list of anticipated standard features that included radar obstacle detection and gyroscopic stabilisation. Opron consulted with an astrophysicist friend to help integrate these not-yet realised concepts into the car.
While at Simca he sketched out a
two-box hatchback that caught the attention of Fiat's designers. This sketch eventually led to the
Simca 1100
The Simca 1100 is a car built from 1967 to 1982 by Simca. It was replaced by the Simca-Talbot Horizon.
History
The 1100 was the result of "Project 928", started in 1962, finalized by engineers Philippe Grundeler and Charles Scales. The design ...
.
Another sketch by Opron at Simca has been suggested to have been the original concept for what later became the Renault Espace.
Others dispute this claim, and the design of the Espace is generally credited to
Fergus Pollock.
In the late 1970s Matra designer Antoine Volanis addressed the need for a replacement for the
Matra Rancho
The Matra Rancho is a leisure activity vehicle created by the French engineering group Matra, in cooperation with the automaker Simca, to capitalize on the off-road trend started by the Range Rover. The Rancho provided an "off-road look" at a lowe ...
by designing an
MPV using Simca parts and with input from Opron.
This design was presented to PSA management in 1979 as "Project P16", but did not reach production. Opron was at Renault throughout most of the Espace's development and for one year after sales started.
Citroën
In 1962 Mme. Opron-Mercier noticed an advertisement in ''
Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' saying that an "Important industrial group" was looking to hire an experienced designer.
Opron responded to the ad, and was directed to report to the Quai de Javel, the home of Citroën. The personnel manager asked Opron to return later that day to the Bureau d'Études on the Rue du Théâtre to meet with
Flaminio Bertoni, Citroën's chief designer and originator of the
2CV and
DS.
When Opron arrived for the meeting with Bertoni, the older man asked to see Opron's portfolio of drawings. Opron recalled that Bertoni "threw them on the floor, poking them with his cane and stated that he did not think much of them."
Opron collected his drawings and indicated that he found Bertoni's behavior unacceptable, to which Bertoni replied "I do find you interesting though!" Opron left, vowing to never work for such a man. Three weeks later, he received a letter of appointment from Citroën.
Opron joined Citroën’s Bureau d’Études in 1962. For the first three months he worked in the "Méthodes" section.
Opron became Citroën's Responable de Style, or chief stylist, in 1964 following the death of Bertoni.
Opron was tasked with developing a replacement for the 2CV, which evolved into the 1965
Citroën G-Mini design study.
In 1965 Citroën launched new lines of trucks; the 350 and 600 series that earned the nickname
Belphégor for their unique cab design. The trucks were designed by Bertoni and Opron.
Opron began working on the second restyling of the Citroën DS as early as 1963 with ''Projet D29''. His "Nouveau Visage" (new face) front appearing on the 1968 model year DS was a four-headlamp design with two lamps on each side under glass covers that blended with the body's lines. The inner headlamp on each side pivoted with the steering wheel, while the outer lamps were self-leveling.
In 1967, having abandoned the ambitious ''Projet F'' begun by Bertoni and taken over by Opron, Citroën initiated a competition for a new mid-range model that pitted Opron and the Bureau d'Études against
Giorgetto Giugiaro
Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont.
Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...
and
Italdesign
Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. is a design and engineering company and brand based in Moncalieri, Italy, that traces its roots to the 1968 foundation of Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani. Best k ...
.
Both teams submitted designs for front wheel drive 3- and 5-door cars powered by flat-four engines. Opron's proposal carried the day, and his ''Project G'' eventually became the
GS released in 1970.
Some have claimed that Opron based the GS' shape on the Pininfarina Austin 1800 Aerodinamica Berline of 1967.
Others assert that, while it may have been influenced by the Italo-English concept car, Opron's design was an independent work, and point out that Citroën has never acknowledged any link.
Giugiaro's rejected design was taken up by Alfa Romeo and developed into the
Alfasud.
In 1968 Citroën opened a new Centre d'Études at
Vélizy, France. Opron oversaw the arrangements for the move, which was completed progressively over several years.
Opron refreshed the
Ami 6 to create the Ami 8 of 1969.
He also led the team that developed the
Citroën M35, a two-door fastback based on the Ami 8 chassis that was powered by a single rotor
Comotor
Comotor SA was a joint venture between NSU and Citroën, created in Luxembourg in April 1967. Its goal was to produce Wankel engines.
It followed an earlier, 1964 joint venture of both companies, the Geneva-based Comobil subsidiary, focusing on ...
engine.
Production ran from 1969–1971, and although 500 M35s were planned to be built, the total number is believed to be just more than half that.
The first completely new model of the Opron era, and the car he is most closely associated with, was the
SM. Assigned the development name ''Projet S'', the original goal was to produce a racing car suitable for Le Mans. Through the influence of Opron and
Pierre Bercot, Citroën's managing director, it evolved from a racing car into a premium model in the old Grand Routier tradition.
The SM team, which included Jean Giert, built a full-scale model in the Bureau d'Études workshops on the Rue du Théâtre, making the SM the last model developed in this location before the last of the style department moved to their new location in Vélizy.
A design for a possible GS-based coupé progressed to the full-scale model stage.
The car was to be built by
Ligier
Ligier (() is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars.
Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Champ ...
when their contract to assemble the SM expired in 1974–75 but did not go into production.
The project that was Opron's personal favorite was also his last design for Citroën.
Initially called ''Projet L'', the result was the
CX, which debuted in 1974 as the successor to the DS.
When Citroën declared bankruptcy in 1974, the French Government stepped in and arranged a merger of Citroën with
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...
. Opron left shortly after this.
Renault
In 1975 Opron started work at Renault after reportedly being the target of an
executive search
Executive search (informally called headhunting) is a specialized recruitment service which organizations pay to seek out and recruit highly qualified candidates for senior-level and executive jobs across the public and private sectors, as well a ...
by them.
For his new employers he led the redesign of the
Alpine A310
The Alpine A310 is a sports car built by French manufacturer Alpine, from 1971 to 1984.
__TOC__
History
Dieppe-based Alpine, once an independent company specialising in faster Renaults, later a Renault subsidiary, established a fine competition ...
, a project that stylist
Peter Stevens was also involved in.
The original 4-cylinder A310 was modified to accommodate the
V6 PRV engine
The V6 PRV engine is an automobile petrol V6 engine that was developed jointly by Peugeot, Renault and Volvo Cars – and sold from 1974 to 1998. It was gradually replaced after 1994 by another joint PSA-Renault design, known as the ''ES'' engi ...
, and to address some aerodynamic deficiencies of the original shape.
Opron developed a design for an ultra-compact city car called the Véhicule Bas de Gamme (VBG), or Entry Level Vehicle.
He was also involved in the Vesta II concept car of 1987, along with designer
Gaston Juchet
Gaston Juchet () was a French engineer, known for being the chief designer of Renault between 1963 and 1975 and again between 1984 and 1987.
Early life and career
Gaston Juchet's interest in drawing begun when he was a boarder at the Lycée Lo ...
.
Opron's designs at Renault included the
Renault Fuego sports coupé of 1980, as well as the
Renault 9 and 11
The Renault 9 and Renault 11 are small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault for model years 1981–1988 in saloon (Renault 9) and hatchback (Renault 11) configurations — both were styled by the French automobile designer, ...
, with the 9 sedan released in 1981 and the 11 hatchback in 1983.
Opron worked with
AMC's
Dick Teague
Richard Arthur Teague (December 26, 1923 – May 5, 1991) was an American industrial designer in the North American automotive industry. He held automotive design positions at General Motors, Packard, and Chrysler before becoming Vice President o ...
to adapt the 9 and 11 models to the American market, where they were sold as the Alliance and Encore respectively.
Opron's tenure at Renault was marked by extensive collaborations with other well-known designers and carrosserie.
Marcello Gandini
Marcello Gandini (born 26 August 1938) is an Italian car designer, known for his work with the automotive design house Gruppo Bertone, including his designs of the Lamborghini Miura, Countach, and the Lamborghini Diablo.
In a 2009 interview wit ...
influenced the shape of the
25 of 1983, and produced the shape for the Super Cinq in 1984.
An association with Giugiaro and Italdesign resulted in the Renault Gabbiano of 1983, and later the
Renault 21
The Renault 21 is a large family car produced by French automaker Renault between 1986 and 1994. It was also sold in North America initially through American Motors dealers as the Renault Medallion and later through Jeep-Eagle dealers as the Ea ...
of 1986 and
Renault 19
The Renault 19 is a small family car that was produced by the French car manufacturer Renault between 1988 and 1996. In Turkey and in Argentina, production continued until 2000. The internal development code for the 19 was X53, with the five doo ...
of 1988.
In May 1977 Opron sent a letter to director François Zanotti, director of Renault’s commercial division, with a proposal for a new line of commercial trucks, and included two sketches by designer Guy Greffier. Zanotti approved further development, and Greffier refined his original sketches. As the project progressed, Opron invited Gandini to join the design effort. The end result was the Renault AE Magnum truck line released in 1990, when it also won "European Truck of the Year".
Opron wanted to establish a centre of advanced styling in the United States.
He spent time in the States working to that end, but it did not materialise. When he returned to Europe he arrived to
changes in the leadership of Renault.
Opron left Renault in 1985.
Fiat
After Renault Opron moved to Centro Stile at
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
, where he was put in charge of advanced studies.
He is credited with creating the earliest sketches for a design project called the ES 30, for ''Experimental Sportscar 3.0 litres''. Opron's early concept, which won out against a competing proposal from Giugiaro, was fully developed by
Antonio Castellana.
The prototype was completed in just nineteen months – quickly enough to appear at the 1989
Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by t ...
. This highly controversial design went into limited production as the
Alfa Romeo SZ
The Alfa Romeo SZ (Sprint Zagato) or ES-30 (Experimental Sportscar 3.0 litre) is a high-performance limited-production sports car built between 1989 and 1991 by a partnership between Centro Stile Zagato, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo and Centro Stile Fi ...
coupé and the later RZ convertible, where the "Z" refers to coachbuilder
Zagato
Zagato is an independent coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft)- 11,000 ...
. The model was also given the nickname "Il Mostro" (the monster) for its unusual appearance.
In 1992 Opron left Fiat at sixty years of age, having reached mandatory retirement age.
Independent consultant
From 1991 to 2000 he operated his own independent design consultancy in
Verrières-le-Buisson
Verrières-le-Buisson () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is from the centre of Paris, in the Essonne department just outside the inner ring of the Île-de-France.
The commune borders the river Bièvre.
History
T ...
in south Paris (
Essonne
Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.[Paris Motor Show
The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...]
.
The Ligier Dragonfly shown at the 2000
Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by t ...
was also an Opron design.
Opron also consulted for
Piaggio
Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. Its ...
.
Design gallery
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Opron, Robert
1932 births
2021 deaths
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in France
French automobile designers
People from Amiens