SLIDESHOW
Gandini’s greats
M any car designers over the years have restricted themselves to particular classes of cars, but Marcello Gandini, who passed away last week at the age of 85, could turn his hand to virtually anything, from storied supercars through to family hatchbacks and everything in between. So let’s pay tribute to a true automotive great by looking back at some of his best creations.
RICHARD DREDGE
Lamborghini Miura 1966
Gandini made his mark when he replaced Giorgetto Giugiaro as chief designer at Bertone and delivered this striking mid-engined supercar that was so gorgeous, Giugiaro claimed a part of it. Whatever the truth about the start of the project, Gandini delivered a statement of intent for upstart Lamborghini that even Enzo Ferrari couldn’t ignore. Gandini followed it with the open-topped Miura Roadster, with its V12 on full display and the windscreen and rear roof section lowered. That car sadly remained a one-off and is in private ownership today; it came second at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2008. We might wonder why it didn’t win – and why Lamborghini never put it into production is unknown.