Marcello Gandini

Biography

Marcello Gandini was born in Turin on 26 August 1938. In 1964 he approached Nuccio Bertone and was apprenticed to the chief designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro; a year later, at 27, he took Giugiaro's place as Bertone's chief designer.

At Bertone he designed the Lamborghini Miura, from first sketch to finished prototype in three months, and the Countach. His work there also includes the Alfa Romeo Carabo concept (1968), the first BMW 5 Series (E12, 1972, with Paul Bracq), the Lancia Stratos and the Maserati Khamsin (both 1974) and the Fiat X1/9.

In July 1979 he left Bertone to found his own design house, Clama. His first years as a freelancer were spent working only for Renault, which produced the second-generation Renault 5; later came the Citroën BX, the original design proposal for the Lamborghini Diablo and prototypes of the Bugatti EB 110. He received Car Design News' first Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 and died in Rivoli on 13 March 2024.