Just glancing at the bottom of CLT’s homepage will tell you everything you need to know about what we think of Marcello Gandini, who sadly passed away this week, on Wednesday 13th March 2024.

Gandini’s name sits in huge bold letters, a representation of the frequency with which he appears in our blog articles. He is one of the sole reasons both Drake and I even have this blog.

Why? Because Marcello Gandini created products that people fell in love with. But did you know that he helped create a BMW design language that lasted almost 30 years? Or the global love of compact hatchbacks? Or scissor doors?

And so, so much more…

Era-Defining

This isn’t an obituary, and it’s also not a detailed history of Gandini’s work and life, that will come later.

For now, we just want to say thank you.

Because, though the word legend is dramatically overused, any young child – or adult for that matter – who’s ever stared at the poster of a Lancia Stratos, Lamborghini Countach or the majestic Miura, will I hope recognise the name and be so very grateful that he ever lived.

But Marcello Gandini offered the automotive industry so much more.

Gandini created several design themes throughout his life, bought he will of course be remembered most fondly for his first, the wonderful wedge. A principle so dramatic it created some of the most iconic cars ever made.

Remember, before these concepts – and production cars – vehicle designs considered boundary-pushing were being built exclusively by US firms, and pretty much none would go beyond wild, jet plane-inspired concepts.

So when Gandini stepped forwards with the Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo, the Ferrari Rainbow, the Stratos Zero concept and the Autobianchi Runabout we discussed so recently, people took notice.

He pioneered scissor doors, aerodynamic design, the world’s first supercar with the breathtaking Lamborghini Miura and found ways to evolve his conceptual designs into real-world benefits.

He negotiated with engineering teams, iterated exhaustively yet always stuck to his principles, which is how his design for the Bugatti EB110 never quite saw the light of day but created the fundamentals and proportions of the eventual production car.

His designs changed the entire direction of automotive car design in the ’60s and ’70s, all while under the roof of Bertone, but the cars he designed then went out into the real world and became iconic too.

Practical Design

The Lancia Stratos, thanks to its agility, fine balance and aerodynamics, won all sorts of plaudits and rally championships.

The Lamborghini Countach may still be the most outrageous and iconic Lamborghini ever made.

Ferrari tasked him with designing their first ever V8, whilst Lamborghini also returned to him to lay the foundations for their fastest-ever car, the Diablo.

Whatever the design challenge, there was only one man to call.

Yet for me, what defined the man more than anything, beyond his timeless creations, his devotion to the art and the continued evolution of his vision was the ability to spread his magic across all corners of the industry; in a practical way.

He co-designed the 1970 BMW 2002ti Garmisch concept, which he evolved into the BMW E12 that laid the design foundations for so many BMWs. Volkswagen urged him to create the Audi 50 (and VW Polo MK. 1) in 1968, so he did, and once again created a timeless design.

Renault called upon him to create the second generation of the compact, low-cost Renault 5, so he did, and in doing so created one of the most memorable hatchbacks that still looks wonderful today.

Oh, and he designed the legendary R5 Turbo too. I mean…

Honestly, we could talk about Marcello Gandini from Torino for days and days, but this is his moment, so we’ll shut up now and end with a quote from the man himself, when he spoke to Forbes magazine in 2021:

“I have always considered the car as a complete object with no separation — at least with regards to its design process — between mechanics and style, both in terms of function and aesthetics.“

We tragically don’t live in Gandini’s world anymore, and it shows.

I just hope Heaven knows how lucky it is.

***

We didn’t get a chance to talk about the Alfa Romeo Montreal, the De Tomaso Pantera, the Lamborghini Marzal, the Fiat Dino Coupe, the Maserati Ghibli AM336, the-… you get the idea.

That’s just how influential Gandini was.

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