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 1...
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