Gandini’s Lamborghinis celebrated at the 2024 Festival of Speed
Marcello Gandini’s sad passing earlier this year simply could not go without some sort of recognition at the 2024 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard and so, to the Cartier Lawn we look for no less than two Gandini-themed classes this year. Here’s a preview of the class dedicated to his Lamborghinis.
Indeed, he was a designer whose CV towers above almost all others. This is the man that gave the world the Miura, still perhaps the most beautiful supercar ever made, before starting from absolute scratch and defining the word ‘supercar’ with the wedge-shaped Countach that succeeded it. The father of the wedge, it was the penwork of Gandini that ended up being a gift of a design legacy for the Raging Bull. As such, we have six stunning cars on display that epitomise his legacy in Sant’Agata.
Where else do you begin other than with the Miura? The after-hours passion project became the defining taproot for all flagship Lamborghinis and set a benchmark for beauty against which all subsequent supercars were measured. Because really, it was the first supercar, even with its strange transverse mounting for its V12 and its nose that went light at speed as the fuel level dropped.
Then as above, he effectively threw everything about the Miura out. The Golden Goose squished his Golden Egg, only to lay another near-equal in its novelty. The Countach could be three generations ahead of the already innovative Miura, but it isn’t. It’s the next-generation and arguably, still the ultimate supercar pinup over 50 years on. We have it in its purest ‘Periscopio’ form on the Cartier Lawn.
The Diablo was the difficult threequel, which took the wedge shape, refined it, and expanded its capabilities making it good for over 200mph. Only today is it really finding confidence in its place in Lamborghini’s history, a loving audience, and rising values to boot. A late Diablo revised from Gandini’s original will represent the first 200mph Lamborghini on the Cartier Lawn.
Of course, it wasn’t just the headline cars that Gandini penned. He was the designer of all Lamborghinis for a glorious stretch of years. And so we have the stunning Espada, Lamborghini’s inimitable long-legged GT, the Urraco, and the Silhouette, Lamborghini’s junior models, also on display.
As above, the Lamborghini class is but one of the two celebrating the sprawling achievements of Gandini. He has a longer list of other cars with his design touch reaching all classes and budgets. As such, our other Gandini class is about the other machines – from hatchbacks to loping GTs to sportscars, to which he turned his pen.
The 2024 Festival of Speed takes place on 11th-14th July. Only Thursday general admission tickets remain, with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday tickets now sold out, although a limited number of hospitality packages for all days are still available. Tickets and packages can be purchased from £70.
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