Page 12 - Marcello Gandini Maestro of Design Revisited

122 BMW 2800 Spicup
REVISITED
ON WATSON FINE BOO
The design of the front end was inspired by BMW’s
legendary 507 sports car from the 1950s, emulating the
 The interior was mostly the work of Eugenio Pagliano. ARCHIVIO
CENTRALE DELLO STATO/STILE BERTONE
 The preview press release image made for a very exciting
looking design, which, when unveiled, was rather underwhelming.
ARCHIVIO CENTRALE DELLO STATO/STILE BERTONE
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distinctive ellipsoidal grille, but with the addition of the
BMW kidneys at the center, which doubled as bumper
over-riders. Air extractor vents incorporating the BMW
badge were another design element that Gandini
borrowed from the 507. A large gray scoop above the air
cleaner sat amidst the cut-out for the bonnet — inspired,
no doubt, by the American trend for shaker hoods. For
the hooded headlamps, Gandini chose to have them half
hidden under motorized flaps, not dissimilar to those he
had already designed for the Iso Rivolta Lele.
The interior had several interesting features: the glove
box lid was the sliding kind, replacing hinges for the sake
of safety, and the hand brake lever was embedded into
the control console, which was ergonomically functional,
as well as stylistically coherent. The seats were made up
of separate elements to allow better ventilation.
Painted a deep iridescent green, the two-seater BMW
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looked menacingly good from the front three-quarters,
but rather fat and ‘under-tired’ from the side and rear
despite the effort to visually lower the car by painting the
rocker panels and the lower sections metallic silver. Bigger
wheels and tires could have helped the proportions, but
as the car needed to be drivable — like all of Bertone’s
concept cars — the BMW 2800’s overall wheel and tire
diameter had to be retained.
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