Renowned Car Designer Marcello Gandini Passes Away Aged 85

Legendary automobile designer Marcello Gandini has passed away at the age of 85. The designer is famous for designing iconic cars like the Lamborghini Miura, Countach and Diablo as well as the Ferrari 308 GT4, Fiat X1/9, Lancia Stratos and more such iconic cars. 

As per an Italian Media outlet, Gandini passed away suddenly in the Rivoli municipality in Turin, Italy. Gandini was born in Turin in 1938 and was the son of an orchestral conductor. Gandini gained prominence in the automobile design industry when we has working for Gruppo Bertone, an Italian design house, and designed iconic models for Lamborghini, Ferrari, Lancia, Fiat and Maserati. 

However, Gandini did not only design exotic cars, he was also responsible for the design of the first-ever BMW 5 Series and Volkswagen Polo as well as Citroen BX and the second-gen Renault 5 and Renault 5 Turbo. 

Gandini was also involved in the development of the TaMo Racemo, a sportscar concept by Tata Motors which never saw the light of day. Gandini helped build the multi-material sandwich structure, coined MOFlex. The rights for this technology were later sold to Tata Motors but the whole project was later axed in 2018. 

Many automobile designers regard Gandini as their inspiration to follow this career path. Pratap Bose, Design Head, Mahindra & Mahindra, shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “His creation graced countless boys’ and girls’ walls across the world. The Miura, Diablo and Countach were some of his master works. Buon Viaggio Maestro, your work will live on in our hearts and on our streets.” 

Even Lamborghini showed gratitude towards the iconic design and posted on X, “Marcello Gandini left an indelible mark in both car design and Lamborghini’s history, and our thoughts and condolences are with his family at this time.”

Alfa Romeo paid tribute to Gandini and added, “Marcello Gandini was one of the most talented and innovative artists of our era. A design genius who found joy in shocking the audience with his visionary creations.”