Herb Grasse. Photo courtesy Jim Cowen
Herb Grasse’s is not a household name among many car guys, though that’s not for a lack of impressive accomplishments over Grasse’s career. A graduate of the Art Center College of Design, he designed and modeled cars for Chrysler, Ford and Nissan, lending his design work to the Challenger, the Australian XD Ford Falcon and many Asia-Pacific products of the latter two companies. However, it’s outside of the big automotive companies where most people would recognize his work: While an associate designer for George Barris, he helped transform the Ford Futura concept car into TV’s Batmobile; and while working with Malcolm Bricklin, he single-handedly designed the Bricklin SV1, an effort that resulted in multiple awards.
Grasse died last week of pancreatic cancer at the age of 65, leaving behind an impressive body of work. A celebration of Grasse’s life will be held September 11 in Scottsdale, Arizona.