Bob van Niekerk was the driving force behind the creation of the GSM Dart and Flamingo sportscars, and without him “the company would have been a brief flash in the pan”, as stated in the 2007 book: DART: The real GSM story.
Bob Van Niekerk was born in Stanford – Western Cape – and graduated from Stellenbosch University as a mechanical engineer.
With assistance from friends and colleagues he used his passion for cars and design and, along with company co-founders, Willie Meissner and Verster de Wit, brought the GSM concept to fruition in the 1950s.
Piet van Niekerk, one of Bob’s best friends and one of the people involved with company from its conception, shared what a good friend Bob was. “He was a honest guy with an immense determination to succeed”.
Throughout his life Bob was involved with GSM, building road cars, race cars and participating in local racing.
Sadly, as a result of all the years of working with and around glass fibre, Bob contracted emphysema and passed away yesterday. He would’ve celebrated his 85th birthday next month.
Our thoughts go out to all his family, friends and loved ones.
*Read our 50th anniversary article of the GSM Flamingo in the September issue of CAR.
