Audi 2006 Annual Report Download - page 114

Luc Donckerwolke
and Philippe Graton
(left), author of
the Vaillant comics,
in the car.
More masculine and sporty:
the Ibiza Vaillante is
dedicated to the fictional
idol and comic-book hero
Michel Vaillant.
112 AUDI 2006 ANNUAL REPORT
The comic fan of course had to visit compatriot
and Michel Vaillant creator Jean Graton in Brus-
sels, who created the first volume with its realis-
tic-looking cars and motor-racing VIPs as long
ago as 1957. “That was in 1990,” recalls ‘Lucky
Luc’, “and ever since then I’ve been drawing rac-
ing cars and fantasy sports cars with the Vaillant
‘V’ on the front for the comic-book series purely
as a hobby.”
Jean Graton’s son Philippe has been running
the company since 1994. He writes the stories
and, together with his team of cartoonists in
Brussels, maintains the incomparable, tradition-
al Vaillant style.
Today, however, Philippe is visiting Luc in
Sitges. They are the creators of an actual, road-
going Vaillante, the SEAT Ibiza Vaillante. The
matt blue body, the V on the radiator grille and
exhaust tailpipe, the chunkily sporty look and the
V emblem on the hubs of the newly designed
alloy wheels all supply clear evidence. But the
Ibiza is still a far cry from the flat alpha-male rac-
ing car that a proper Vaillante would obviously
look like.
A car for great adventures
Luc explains why: “This is the Ibiza for Michel
Vaillant. It still has to be identifiable as a current
SEAT model, but echo the style of a Vaillante –
more masculine, more sporty and with sharper
contours than the production version.” And
Philippe Graton adds: “The Ibiza Vaillante isn’t a
motorway racer, it’s a car for great adventures,
such as a transcontinental marathon rally.
Maybe we’ll even see this car in action in one of
the next volumes.”