How might Italian automotive history have looked without Marcello Gandini? The master of geometric car design, considered alongside Giorgetto Giugiaro and Leonardo Fioravanti as the most important Italian designers of the 20th Century, counted the breathtaking Lamborghini Miura among his first works. And his subsequent Lamborghini Countach was only outshone by the outlandish wedge-shaped concept cars such as the Lancia Stratos Zero and the Alfa Romeo Carabo. Even more pedestrian cars including the original BMW 5 Series and the Innocenti Mini were designed by Gandini. 

On 24 January, a new exhibition will open at the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile in Turin providing a comprehensive overview of Gandini’s work. Curated by the Italian journalist and design expert Giosuè Boetto Cohen, the show traces Gandini’s history from when he was a junior designer at Bertone to when he worked independently designing, among other things, motorcycles, helicopters, and factories. Of course, the onus is very much on the cars and the stars of the show will include the Lancia Stratos Zero, flown in especially by the American collector Phillip Sarofim, and the Lamborghini Marzal owned by the Swiss collector Albert Spiess. 

The Alfa Romeo museum has contributed the Carabo and a study of the Montreal, while Bertone sports cars such as the Maserati Khamsin and Lancia Stratos HF will also make an appearance. If you want to delve deeper into the history of Marcello Gandini, you can also trace his journey through numerous rarely seen documents, objects, and films. Mike Robinson, who headed Bertone in 2009 and is a profound connoisseur of Gandini’s work, has also contributed to the exhibition with concepts and illustrations. 

Photo: Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile