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Pages 50-51, Lamborghini Miura designed by Marcello Gandini Page 53, Marcello Gandini designed a coupé with taut and balanced lines, dif-
for Bertone. The design was presented at the 1966 Geneva Mo- ferent from the classic canons of the Ferrari-Pininfarina duo. The Ferrari Dino
tor Show during an event for classic car enthusiasts organized by 308 GT4 was presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1973 and mass-produced
Car & Vintage. ©Davide De Martis @defuntis per Car&Vintage by Ferrari between 1974 and 1980. In 1975 the Ferrari Dino 208 GT4 followed
from the Ferrari Dino 308 GT4, bearing identical bodywork but with a smaller
engine. The Dino 308 GT4 was produced in 2826 units and the Dino 208 GT4
in 840 units. ©Piotr Degler for Car&Vintage

A large room submerged in silence. Soft rugs, a pitched to leave everyone speechless… if people start arguing
ceiling with exposed beams, a fire always burning in over this or that, it means something went wrong.”
the hearth in the corner, and enormous windows over- And more than one person was left speechless
looking a manicured garden. That is how Marcello at the sight of Gandini’s prototypes, including Enzo
Gandini’s study should be imagined, with the master Ferrari, who commissioned him to design the Dino in
contemplating a blank page as he sharpens his pencil the mid-‘70s. Gandini steered away from the path laid
and then gets to work. He starts the way his automo- by Pininfarina and drew a four-seat coupé with taut
biles start, then and now, the only sound is his gentle lines, minimizing the air intakes seen in the Countach,
breathing and the graphite’s inventions. For those less among others, with a rear mid-engine layout. The ex-
familiar with drawing, it’s almost impossible to under- traordinariness of the Dino, however, isn’t just in its
stand how it can resist the corrosion of time. Just as it’s driving dynamics or its engine, but also in its ability
almost impossible to be unfamiliar with Marcello Gan- to transcend the oil crisis, with over 3,000 units of the
dini if you love cars. “Half flying carpet, half house, 308 and the 208 built from 1974 to 1980.
which allows us to maintain our own space and our own Marcello Gandini was able to adapt the lines of
identity even when we aren’t home.” He has dedicated his sketches to the folds of time, and fold time into the
his entire life to this concept, with the severity typical lines of his automobiles, thereby overriding their sim-
of a writer: he doesn’t always love what he draws, and ple role as boxes on wheels meant exclusively to take
sees its defects rather than its qualities. Lucky for him, us from point A to point B and finding fundamental
and for us, that his successes were measured by others. meaning in the journey itself. This concept was valid
A car designer? Yes, but calling him so would be reduc- fifty or sixty years ago, but it still rings true today and
tive. A genius? Sure, but he would just gloss over that will even more so in the future. “I wouldn’t know what
sort of thing. Hence, it is pointless to give him a title, to do with a car that drives itself. But if that were the
it’s best to just let the story speak for itself. case, I would want it to take me to where I have to go,
Where to start? With a scale model of a “German drop me off and find parking on its own, and then pick
convertible” that he received when he was five years me up when I need to leave.” Replacing the pleasure
old. It evidently triggered something in him because of driving? Out of the question. Removing the driver
in high school, instead of buying textbooks, he opted from the central role? Never. Because drivers are as
for mechanical manuals, which he eventually memo- important as the cars that seduce them at first sight
rized. He then started working for Bertone, where he and every time they climb aboard. The wow effect?
received a real salary and there was a new prototype Keeping that constant has always been the mission of
to present every three weeks. And those prototypes be- Marcello Gandini, who over the years has continual-
came actual cars, astonishing for their innovative lines ly challenged his own concepts to create something
and timeless design. new, keeping the desire alive without falling into
Examples abound, from the Innocenti Mini, complacency or boredom, without establishing points
which become a popular icon in its subsequent evo- of reference, starting over from scratch with a fresh
lutions which continue even today, to custom-built approach. Prototype after prototype after prototype.
sports cars like the Lamborghini Miura or Countach, Success after success after success. Not only folding
which initially raised some eyebrows but is still con- time, but making it vanish altogether with his immor-
sidered a timeless classic to this day. “My cars should tal automobile designs.

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