Wayne Cherry, from Art Center College all the way to VP of Design at GM

The large front doors made it easy to get into the front; however, access to the back seats was through counter-opening ‘gullwing’-type doors. A real innovation, however, was the hidden exterior handles - a feature that wouldn’t become part of mass-produced models until decades later.

Cherry was a motorsport fan, and with the accentuated long tail and forward seating position of the 5.08-meter-long SRV, it’s clear he drew inspiration from the Porsche 917-LH, which had competed in the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours. Similar to the 917s, Cherry also provided mobile aerodynamic aids for the SRV. But instead of ‘flaps’ at the rear, like the Porsche, there was a pedal in the cockpit that could adjust an aerofoil in the nose section. At the same time, an electrically operated levelling system was provided for the rear axle. Also interesting was that it was possible to pump and re-distribute gasoline into different tanks, to ‘trim’ the SRV like an airplane or submarine

The SRV was shown again at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show and hit the auto show circuit over the years, including attending the 75th anniversary of Vauxhall in 1978. Surprisingly, it took until 1978 for Cherry, Taylor, and the rest of the team to come up with another buzz-inducing design - the Equus, a roadster with a front engine. Meanwhile, the SRV was placed in the Heritage Collection of Vauxhall, where it testifies to the fact that, once given carte blanche, the Vauxhall design studio could compete with any of the other established car design studios. For Wayne Cherry, who GM had entrusted to head the Luton Design Centre in 1975, the SRV signalled the start of a long and successful career with GM. In 1983, he led the design team of Opel, another GM Europe subsidiary, from Rüsselsheim am Main, Hesse, Germany, and in 1991, he returned to the USA to take the design lead position for Chevrolet and Geo. By 1992, he was promoted to worldwide vice-president of design. On 1 January 2004, Cherry retired, after 42 years at General Motors.

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https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-wayne-cherry/819670/2757937/view
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