Top notch automotive designer Marcello Gandini passes away at age 85!

anjan_c2007 · 16th March 2024, 11:57

Marcello Gandini [26.08.1938 (Born in Turin, Italy) to 13.03.2024 ( passed away in Rivoli, Italy)] , the Italian car designer who pioneered the use of “scissor doors” in luxury sports cars and drew the sleek outlines of several eye-catching designs for manufacturers including Lamborghini, has died aged 85.

Top notch automotive designer Marcello Gandini passes away at age 85!-marcello_gandini_in_1976.jpg

Gandini, whose designs for fast and furious machines like the Alfa Romeo Carabo, the Lancia Stratos, or the Lamborghini Countach and Miura adorned millions of teenage bedroom walls, died suddenly in the Rivoli municipality of Turin on Monday, Italian state broadcaster Rai said.

Born to an orchestra conductor father in Turin in 1938, Gandini showed an early passion for engineering and design, coming up with his first concept car when he was only 20 years old and joining Italian industrial design company Gruppo Bertone aged 27.

During his 14 years at Bertone, he rose to become the company’s style director and signed off more than 100 projects, many of which are now considered classics of automobile design.

In 1979 Gandini stepped down from Bertone to start his own company with his wife, Claudia, its name Clama Srl formed from the first few letters of both of their names. Initially working exclusively with Renault, Clama later also worked with carmakers such as Maserati, Nissan, Toyota and Subaru. As a freelancer, Gandini was also hired to design more practical and boxy cars for mass-production, such as the first-generation Volkswagen Polo, the BMW 5 Series, the Citroën BX and the second-generation Renault 5.

Industrious even late in life, he collaborated with Indian carmaker Tata to create the TaMo Racemo sports car, which was shown at the Geneva motor show in 2017. In January, the Polytechnic Institute of Turin awarded Gandini with an honorary degree in mechanical engineering.

Full news :-

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...r-dies-aged-85

Mr Gautam Sen (ex Editor, Indian Auto and Auto India) from Paris, France had known Gandini and had worked with him for conceptualising some car designs. Gautam Sen has paid a great tribute today to his mentor in the field of automotive designing in deRivas and Ives entitled " Marcello Gandini- at the cutting edge of automotive design", that can be accessed on this link:-

https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/ma...tive-design-3/

Gandini had also designed a concept car for Tata Motors in 2013, that is yet to see the light of the day. It has been featured on a thread here:-

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...o-gandini.html (Tata’s Composite Car Concept - Designed by Marcello Gandini)

16th March 2024, 11:57	#1
anjan_c2007 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: India Posts: 8,340 Thanked: 20,686 Times View My Garage	Top notch automotive designer Marcello Gandini passes away at age 85! Marcello Gandini [26.08.1938 (Born in Turin, Italy) to 13.03.2024 ( passed away in Rivoli, Italy)] , the Italian car designer who pioneered the use of “scissor doors” in luxury sports cars and drew the sleek outlines of several eye-catching designs for manufacturers including Lamborghini, has died aged 85. Gandini, whose designs for fast and furious machines like the Alfa Romeo Carabo, the Lancia Stratos, or the Lamborghini Countach and Miura adorned millions of teenage bedroom walls, died suddenly in the Rivoli municipality of Turin on Monday, Italian state broadcaster Rai said. Born to an orchestra conductor father in Turin in 1938, Gandini showed an early passion for engineering and design, coming up with his first concept car when he was only 20 years old and joining Italian industrial design company Gruppo Bertone aged 27. During his 14 years at Bertone, he rose to become the company’s style director and signed off more than 100 projects, many of which are now considered classics of automobile design. In 1979 Gandini stepped down from Bertone to start his own company with his wife, Claudia, its name Clama Srl formed from the first few letters of both of their names. Initially working exclusively with Renault, Clama later also worked with carmakers such as Maserati, Nissan, Toyota and Subaru. As a freelancer, Gandini was also hired to design more practical and boxy cars for mass-production, such as the first-generation Volkswagen Polo, the BMW 5 Series, the Citroën BX and the second-generation Renault 5. Industrious even late in life, he collaborated with Indian carmaker Tata to create the TaMo Racemo sports car, which was shown at the Geneva motor show in 2017. In January, the Polytechnic Institute of Turin awarded Gandini with an honorary degree in mechanical engineering. Full news :- https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...r-dies-aged-85 Mr Gautam Sen (ex Editor, Indian Auto and Auto India) from Paris, France had known Gandini and had worked with him for conceptualising some car designs. Gautam Sen has paid a great tribute today to his mentor in the field of automotive designing in deRivas and Ives entitled " Marcello Gandini- at the cutting edge of automotive design", that can be accessed on this link:- https://magazine.derivaz-ives.com/ma...tive-design-3/ Gandini had also designed a concept car for Tata Motors in 2013, that is yet to see the light of the day. It has been featured on a thread here:- https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...o-gandini.html (Tata’s Composite Car Concept - Designed by Marcello Gandini) Last edited by anjan_c2007 : 16th March 2024 at 12:03.
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