Hello, my name is Marcello Gandini...

Tell us about life with your BX, or indeed life in general!
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Philip Chidlow
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Hello, my name is Marcello Gandini...

Post by Philip Chidlow »

... well it isn't - but I thought it'd be nice to have a thread about the work of the designer of the BX. And an interesting stop-off point for visitors or newcomers to the BX Club.



"He's best known for his work with Nuccio Bertone, especially for Lamborghini's Miura and Countach exotics, although he has done many practical family cars as well, including the highly successful Citroën BX, the first-generation BMW 5-series, the Renault Supercinq, and, above all, my absolute favorite of all supercars produced in the last sixty years - the Lancia Stratos."

It might be relevant to first see where the BX came from...

Unashamedly paraphrasing Wikipedia!


FW11

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In 1977 Gandini designed the FW 11 for Anadol and Reliant, the latter naming it as the Scimitar SE 7. Four prototypes of this car were produced, two of which were sent to England with the Reliant badge, and two other examples, one of them white and the other one blue, were sent to Turkey with the Anadol badge. The car, which had a modern design and "luxuries" for that period's European cars such as electrical windows, was deemed too expensive to produce profitably by Anadol and the project was shelved.

Following Anadol's decision not to build the FW 11, Reliant exhibited the Scimitar SE 7 at its stand as a prototype during the Birmingham Motor Show.

see http://www.sporting-reliants.com/FW11.htm

The FW 11 design was later purchased by Citroën, and with little changes (e.g. a steel unibody with steel and plastic panels instead of fiberglass) it was mass produced as the Citroën BX...

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Volvo Tundra

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Volvo Tundra was a concept car built and designed by Bertone in 1979. It was based on the Volvo 343, but was rejected. It is easy to spot the design similarities.

So to everyone out there, please feel free to add and expand as you wish. Anyone fancy exploring his work with Alfa Romeo?
• 1992 Citroen BX TZD Turbo Hurricane
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rayfenwick
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Post by rayfenwick »

It's interesting that I've seen (apparently factory) Bertone badges on a BX, yet Gandini left Stile Bertone in 1980 to go freelance...

Whilst the Reliant FW11 (1977) and the Volvo Tundra (1979) concept cars were penned during Gandini's time with Bertone, the BX wasn't unveiled until 1982, though of course it may have been penned prior to Gandini's departure, which would make it a legitimate Bertone design.

There's no point to this post, it's just something that's always bugged me ... :roll:
Ray

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Post by richardd1652 »

My Rd Turbo did have Bertone badges on the rear pillars until my Dad nicked them for his 14 Re.Dont know if they were original though as it does have some dubious graphics which are coming off like Fireblade on the tail and turbo D graphics on the front doors.
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Post by rayfenwick »

Yes, It was your car that reminded me, though I'm sure I've seen them before....
Ray

The Fleet (most recent first):
2000 Citroën XM 3.0 24V V6 Exclusive Auto (pre-MOT)
1997 Citroën XM 2.0 TCT Exclusive Auto (for sale)
1979 Citroën CX 2.4 EI Cmatic Prestige (slowly being restored)

1992 Alfa Romeo 164 Lusso 3.0 v6 12v Manual (on the to-do list)

www.citroencarclub.co.uk
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Post by richardd1652 »

Why is everything that i want so Fu****g far away!!!!
Ive found what sounds like a gorgeous Mk1 14RE in France for 600 euros,and i really fancy the Black 14TGE on the Ebay.DE site,the same guy selling the lovely alloys.
I need to find someone who travels abroad in euroland who comes back with say an empty trailor.As i imagine the cost of getting over there outways the value of the cars.
Richard.
1985 MK1 BX Digit
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Post by rayfenwick »

C'est la vie.... :?
Ray

The Fleet (most recent first):
2000 Citroën XM 3.0 24V V6 Exclusive Auto (pre-MOT)
1997 Citroën XM 2.0 TCT Exclusive Auto (for sale)
1979 Citroën CX 2.4 EI Cmatic Prestige (slowly being restored)

1992 Alfa Romeo 164 Lusso 3.0 v6 12v Manual (on the to-do list)

www.citroencarclub.co.uk
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

I could be tempted to collect for you if my costs were covered (i.e. cheap flight out and fuel to return). It would no doubt be an adventure!

Only really practical if you live near an airport that has Ryanair/Easyjet type flights though.
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Post by richardd1652 »

I live near Leeds/Bradford airport,well 1/2 hr away.
My father in law emailed the German guy about the Black Bx but as yet no reply and im also waiting to hear back to previous messages back and forth with the French family regarding the Mk1 14RE.
I will be in touch with you regarding your kind offer.
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Re: Hello, my name is Marcello Gandini...

Post by Philip Chidlow »

• 1992 Citroen BX TZD Turbo Hurricane
• 2006 Xsara Picasso 1.6 16v
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deltic
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Re: Hello, my name is Marcello Gandini...

Post by deltic »

When I first saw the images of FW11 I was reminded of the FSO Polonez.

Which in turn going off at a huge tangent with tomorrow (27 January) being the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz reminds me that many years ago I hired an FSO for a week in Poland. It overheated passing through Oswiecim which rather freaked me only being used to air cooled Citroens at the time... Never mind the 2015 Challenge that trip really was the 1993 FSO Challenge all on my own!
1991 BX GTi auto, grey, 137,000 miles (2015, 2017 & 2019 Citroen Classic Challenge veteran)
1991 BX GTi auto, grey, 92,000 miles (2022 Citroen Classic Challenge veteran)
2006 C4 VTR+ 2.0 Coupé, silver, 78,000 miles (RIP)
2016 Volvo V40 T2 R-Design Pro, blue, 24,000 miles
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