Jacques Cooper, who has died aged 93, was the French designer of British origin behind the distinctive aerodynamic orange TGV high-speed train, a source of intense national pride in France since it entered service in 1981.
Previously Cooper had designed shopping malls, tractors, helicopters, metro trains for Santiago and Cairo, locomotives for China and the Porsche 914 Murène limited-edition sports car. In 1968, he was working for the automotive coachbuilders Brissonneau and Lotz (B&L) when the train maker Alsthom asked him to design “a train, not looking like a train” – completely new, innovative and, above all, fast.
At the time, French trains were hauled by massive, box-like locomotives. Taking inspiration from the profiled line, sloping front and, most memorably, orange colour of his Porsche, Cooper designed a streamlined, aerodynamic train that looked like a racing car.
When the prototype underwent its first trials, one aeronautics journalist exclaimed: “Just put wings on it and it will fly!” It reached unheard-of speeds up to 318 kph (198 mph), opening up the prospect of bringing France’s scattered centres of population much closer together.