Amedeo "Amédée" Gordini (23 June 1899 – 25 May 1979) was an Italian-born race car driver and sports car manufacturer in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Biography

Gordini was born in Bazzano, currently part of the

Metropolitan City of Bologna The Metropolitan City of Bologna () is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is ''de facto'' the city of Bologna, though the body does not explicitly outline it. It was created by t ...

in the

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

region of northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He was a young boy when he became fascinated with automobiles and racing. In his early teens, he worked as a mechanic for Alfieri Maserati. After serving in the Italian army during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1926 he married and settled in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

: parenthood quickly followed. In France, he raced

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

cars in

Grand Prix motor racing Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and ...

events and at the

24 hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

. He was a particular fan of the Fiat Balilla, released in early 1932. Using a Balilla chassis he developed a unique roadster which he used in his first races. In 1934 Gordini approached Henri Pigozzi, Fiat's French "General Representative". Pigozzi was a close friend and business partner of

Giovanni Agnelli Giovanni Agnelli (13 August 1866 – 16 December 1945) was an Italian industrialist and principal founder of Fiat S.p.A., established in 1899. Under his leadership, Fiat became a cornerstone of Italy's automotive industry, significantly contr ...

, Fiat's owner. Since 1928 Pigozzi had been assembling Fiats at

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, in France, using a combination of imported and locally sourced components. In November 1934 Pigozzi's Fiat assembly business relocated to larger premises at

Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...

, and out of this

Simca Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italy, Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simc ...

was born. Gordini had already established a strong reputation as a racing driver and as an engineer with a specialist's understanding of Fiats. A bond between Gordini and Pigozzi existed naturally, partly because they were both Italian expatriates who had moved to France after the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

. Gordini rapidly found himself the head of the Simca motor racing department. He quickly showed a flair for improving the performance from the cars' basic Fiat designed engines without incurring massive expenditure, acquiring the sobriquet "le sorcier de la mécanique" (''roughly "the mechanic- wizard"''), and staying with Simca till 1951. From the 1940s, his son Aldo joined his racing team as a mechanic and occasional driver. The break with Simca arose over the extent of the manufacturer's support for Simca-Gordini participation at the top level of motor racing, including Formula 1.http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/con-gordi.html In 1952 Gordini founded the independent

Gordini Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and Car tuning, performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer) ...

company to build a line of sports cars for racing. In 1953 the government of France awarded Amédée Gordini the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. The cars that Gordini sent to the race track in Le Mans were very fast. Gordini's engine tuner, also called the “sorcerer”, breathed Grand Prix performance into regular engines - a feat no one believed possible. The Musée National de l'Automobile de Mulhouse in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

featuring the Schlumpf Collection has in its collection Grand Prix and road racing cars of the Gordini brand. Exhibits include a type 16 Grand Prix from 1954, a single seater type 32 from 1956 and the Gordini 26 S, the car driven by the famous French author

Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan (; born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois ch ...

. Despite racing successes, after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, obtaining adequate financial support for racing had become increasingly difficult, and the business struggled financially without the backing of Pigozzi. Timely salvation appeared in 1957 when

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

engaged Gordini. During the final two decades of his career his technical skills were combined with the financial muscle of France's largest automaker to give birth to a succession of performance versions of mass market cars, starting with the

Renault Dauphine The Renault Dauphine () is a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive four-door economy car, economy sedan (car), sedan with three-box styling, manufactured and marketed by Renault from 1956 to 1967 across a single generation. Along with such cars as the C ...

and including the Renault Caravelle, Renault 5 Alpine Turbo,

Renault 8 The Renault 8 (Renault R8 until 1964) is a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive small family car produced by the French manufacturer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s. It also formed the basis for the larger Renault 10, introduced in 1965. The ...

Renault 12 The Renault 12 is a mid-size family car introduced by French automaker Renault at the Paris Motor Show in October 1969 and produced in France until 1980. Available as a saloon (''Berline'') and estate (''Break''), it was also produced under lic ...

and the Renault 17. In Brazil, technical changes in the Brazilian version of

, manufactured by

Willys-Overland Willys (pronounced , "Willis") was a brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors, an American automobile company, founded by John North Willys. It was best known for its design and production of World War II–era military jeeps (MBs), Willys ...

, caused the company to rename this car model in 1962, releasing it with the popular nickname

. Gordini died after several months of acute illness at the end of May 1979, in Paris, less than a month short of his eightieth birthday. He was buried in the

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre () is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis in Paris, after the Père Lachaise Cemet ...

. He died a few weeks too early to be present for the first Formula 1 victory of the Renault V6 turbo racing engine, developed by the Renault Sport division into which he had merged his own company, and which he had built up since 1969.

Sources and notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordini, Amedee 1899 births 1979 deaths Italian military personnel of World War I Italian emigrants to France French racing drivers French automotive pioneers Knights of the Legion of Honour 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers French founders of automobile manufacturers Italian founders of automobile manufacturers Burials at Montmartre Cemetery Formula One team owners Formula One engine engineers Automotive businesspeople