Gene Winfield was an icon of the custom car community whose designs were seen in such movies and TV shows as “Blade Runner,” “Star Trek,” and “Bewitched.”
- Died: March 4, 2025 (Who else died on March 4?)
- Details of death: Died after fighting cancer at the age of 97.
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Gene Winfield’s legacy
Winfield came to be called the “King of Kustoms” for his outsized influence on the craft of building custom cars. He spent almost 80 years in the business, opening his first shop in the 1940s and continuing to work into his 90s. As his reputation grew, he became a go-to source when Hollywood needed a futuristic vehicle, like the “Super Car” in a 1967 episode of “Bewitched.”
That was one of Winfield’s earliest Hollywood custom creations, and “Bewitched” wasn’t the only show in which that vehicle appeared. It was called the Reactor, a low-slung two-seater built from scratch by Winfield. The vehicle also appeared in “Star Trek: The Original Series” as Jupiter 8, “Batman” as the Catwoman’s Catmobile, and “Mission: Impossible” in an episode in which a bank robber was duped into believing he was in the future. Painted in Winfield’s signature fade style, shading from yellow to green, the Reactor was honored with the Tournament of Fame Award in the 1966 Grand National Roadster Show.
Winfield also designed the gadget-laden roadster for “Get Smart” and customized a Piranha for “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” On the big screen, his work was most recognizable in “Blade Runner,” for which he created more than two dozen “spinners,”
the flying vehicles used as police cars and private vehicles in the futuristic cult classic. He also created cars for such movies as “Sleeper,” “The Last Starfighter,” and “RoboCop.”
In the early years of his career, Winfield also raced cars, including at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track, and he served in the U.S. Army. He said his favorite car that he customized was the Jade Idol, an award-winning 1956 Mercury with a green ombre paint style.
Notable quote
“[W]hen I paint a car, I paint it until I like it. It doesn’t matter if it takes me two hours, three days, or two weeks – I paint until I like it. I don’t care if the customer likes it or not, but usually they do.” — from a 2014 interview for On All Cylinders
Tributes to Gene Winfield
Full obituary: Hot Rod
