The world of automotive design has lost one of its biggest names, as Italian news outlet Rai News has announced the death of legendary designer Marcello Gandini, who passed at the age of 85.

Gandini’s name will forever be most associated with beautiful and wild cars from Sant’Agata Bolognese, such as his hand-drawn machines like the Lamborghini Countach, the Diablo, and the Miura. Other iconic designs penned by him include the Bugatti EB110, the Lancia Stratos, and the Fiat X1/9.

Born in Turin, Italy, on August 26, 1938, he created some of his most iconic designs while working for Bertone from 1965 to 1980. Initially rejected for the job by then-Bertone design chief Giorgetto Giugiaro, he got the gig a few years later after Giugiaro left the firm.

During his time at the famous design house, he created cars like the Alfa Romeo Montreal, the Maserati Khamsin, the original Volkswagen Polo, and the Ferrari 308 GT4.

He left Bertone to go freelance and continued to create designs that still stand the test of time today, including the Citroen BX, the Renault 5 Turbo hatchback, the original BMW 5-Series, and the wild Cizeta-Moroder V16T. He is also widely credited with being the inventor of the famous scissor doors, which are often simply called Lambo Doors these days.

Gandini himself once said in an interview that his fascination with cars and design went right back to when he received a model car of a German cabriolet when he was five years old, and that rather than studying his Latin books in school, he would read Endothermic Engines by Dante Giacosa, a famous Italian automotive designer and engineer.

Gandini lived and breathed design in many ways right up to old age, and next to cars also explored industrial and furniture design. In January, Gandini was awarded an honorary degree in mechanical engineering by the Polytechnic Institute of Turin.

During his acceptance speech, he said that his father was a conductor who wanted him to become a pianist. Only when he got onboard the Lamborghini Miura did he understand that his son knew how to play other notes: those of engines.

Gandini is being laid to rest in Rivera, a parish of his hometown of Turin.