John de Vries (designer)

John R. de Vries
John de Vries explaining the rear wiper design of the Volvo 480 in 2014
Born	John Robert de Vries (1945-02-18)18 February 1945 Bergeijk, The Netherlands
Died	21 June 2025(2025-06-21) (aged 80) Helmond, The Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Education	Academy of Visual Arts
Occupation	Designer
Known for	Volvo 343, DAF 95 and Volvo 480

John R. de Vries (Bergeijk, 18 February 1945 - Helmond, 21 June 2025) was a Dutch designer of cars and trucks.

Career

De Vries started at the design department of DAF in Helmond, where he worked on the design of Project 900, the successor of the DAF 66. In 1971, out of two of in-house designs and designs by Giovanni Michelotti and Bertone, De Vries' design was chosen for the car that ultimately became the Volvo 343. ^[1]

In 1980, the first front wheel drive Volvo was in development, and once again competing with a number of Italian designs, Volvo in Sweden went for De Vries' design that became the Volvo 480 in 1986. ^[2]

After his work for Volvo, he started to work for DAF Trucks in 1985, where he designed the DAF 95.

In February 1998 he designed the Alliance bus for Den Oudsten. ^[3]

References

1. Johannes (Hans) de Bruin (2012-04-10). A DUTCH TREAT...a tale of DAF cars & trucks. lulu.com. p. 76. ISBN   9781105636561.
2. Hans Moberger (2004). Volvo in Born - a history. Göteborg: Volvo Personenvagnar AB. p. 48. ISBN   9163153076.
3. Stefan Veenenberg (2017). De Den Oudsten Alliance. Stichting Haags Bus Museum. p. 7. ISBN   9789082239812.