Designer Of The World's First Supercar, Marcello Gandini, Dies Aged 85

The automotive world today woke up to the sad news that Marcello Gandini, without question one of the finest designers of all time, passed away on Wednesday. He was 85 years old. No details surrounding the cause of death have yet been provided.

Over the course of a long and storied career, Gandini's designs, varied as they are, have appealed to everyone from the executive businessman to the thrill-seeking sports and supercar lover and even the budget-conscious family head. And unlike some designers, no single vehicle type or design style characterizes the man's genius. In fact, some of his most famous designs could not look more different from each other.

At just 25 years of age, Gandini joined Bertone, taking over as head of design from one Giorgetto Giugiaro. Clearly, there was always something special about the man, and he lived up to that promise throughout his career.

Hailed as the original supercar (and one of the most beautiful ever made), Gandini penned the inimitable Lamborghini Miura and then, just a few years later, revolutionized the aesthetic of the mid-engine supercar with another era-defining masterpiece: the spectacle known as the Countach. He also penned the Diablo and several other Lambos, and his signature is all over the Lancia Stratos and the Fiat X/19. His only Ferrari was the Dino 308 GT4.

Other highlights include the De Tomaso Pantera SI, the Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo concept, and the Cizeta V16T, a supercar with a 16-cylinder engine configuration Bugatti will adopt. Speaking of the French automaker, Gandini also styled the EB110.

For his own use, Gandini preferred to drive practical cars, and he penned a fair few of those, too. For example, the 1970 Garmisch concept eventually became refined into the E12 BMW 5 Series, starting a long line of Bimmers with Italian flair. But as important as the sharknose aesthetic has become to a brand like BMW, Gandini also created some stunning entry-level cars.

Much like Giugiaro, whose design of the Volkswagen Scirocco influenced the Hyundai Pony and the Isuzu Impulse, Gandini also created three cars from a single basic design: the Autobianchi A12, Audi 50, and Volkswagen Polo. Other practical cars he