John DeLorean,80, Ex-General Motors Executive and Developer of Futuristic Sports Car, died March 19 at a hospital in Summit, N.J., after a stroke.

He was once described as "sitting behind [a] desk, wearing a pair of those old high-top leather shoes and packing a big wad of cigars in their shirt pockets."

"John DeLorean was one of Detroit’s larger-than-life figures who secured a noteworthy place in our industry’s history," GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said . "He made a name for himself through his talent, creativity, innovation and daring."

He has achieved fame mainly due to the gull-winged sports cars.

John DeLorean created what some consider the first "muscle car" in 1964 by cramming a V-8 engine into a Pontiac Tempest and calling it the GTO, fondly dubbed the "Goat" by auto enthusiasts.

He has created his own corporation where he applied his innovations in car industry such as unpainted stainless steel skin and the gull-wing doors, producing only about 8,900 cars in three years.

DeLorean’s company collapsed in 1983 when he was arrested and accused for selling $24 million of cocaine to rescue his venture and faced more than 60 years in prison.

After declaring bankruptcy in 1999 he decided to produce a speedy plastic sports car selling for only $20,000.

1969 DeLorean introduced the compact, fuel-efficient Vega to compete with Ford’s Pinto and GMC’s Gremlin, but otherwise he found many of his proposals dismissed by his bosses.

"The deadliest sin is pride. I was an arrogant egomaniac. I needed this, as difficult as it was, to get my perspective back, " DeLorean once said about himself.