Pininfarina

Introduce

Est. 1930

Pininfarina was established as a small artisan business dedicated to the construction of bodywork to order for wealthy private clients, thanks to the financing of an aunt of his wife and the active support of Vincenzo Lancia, who first believed in the intuitions of his friend Pinin Farina to whom he then had many of his cars bodied, it became over the years an industry with the ability to offer the automotive market complete designs of motor vehicles and, more generally, means of transportation, conceived also with the aid of advanced engineering research. Pinin Farina was among the first to take a concrete interest in aerodynamics, and his son Sergio brought a more engineering and less empirical approach to the industry. In its early years, up to the outbreak of World War II, the company became known for its artisanal and small-series construction of special bodywork designed on mechanics primarily by partner Vincenzo Lancia in particular Dilambda, from Alfa Romeo, Hispano-Suiza, and FIAT. It was at the time of the first postwar reconstruction that Pininfarina conceived the first world-famous automobile, the Cisitalia 202. Introduced in 1947, it was the first car to be exhibited at MOMA in New York. Since that time known throughout the world, Pininfarina has designed the styling of hundreds of cars, some of them famous and renowned. The company then passed, starting in 1961, under the leadership of the founder's son, Sergio, a world-renowned designer, who continued the research always remaining in the field of automobiles. As early as the 1950s he began cooperation with foreign car manufacturers, for example, the French Peugeot, with whom the relationship continues to this day. Also from the late 1950s is the transformation from a craft structure to a true industrial reality. The transition event is the production on behalf of Alfa Romeo of 27,000 Giulietta Spiders born in Pininfarina inspired by the Lancia Aurelia B24 for the design of the car. The decade 1960-1970 marks the creation of some of the most famous models, such as the Alfa Romeo Spider "Duetto," the Lancia Flaminia, the Lancia Flavia coupe, the Dino 246, and the Fiat "124 Sport Spider," "Dino Spider." Beginning in the early 1960s following the move to the new Grugliasco plant, there is a strong commitment to technological and aerodynamic development, first with the creation of the CCD (Centro di Calcolo e Disegno) and later with the construction of a full-scale wind tunnel, the first in Italy for passenger cars and one of the few then existing in the world. Thanks in part to these new technologies came Ferrari 365 Daytona, 308 GTB and 400, the Fiat 130 Coupé, the Lancia Montecarlo (which was the first car to make use of it) and the Lancia Gamma Berlina and Coupé. In addition to cars, new annhe solutions for caravans were experimented in the wind tunnel. The aerodynamic study for Nardi Caravans' "Futura," the first caravan built with a sloping front to improve CX, is from 1978. Also at the turn of the 1970s and early 1980s, Pininfarina entered into an agreement with Lancia, in the name of the long-standing bond between the 2 Turin-based companies, also for the design and aerodynamic development of its sports cars that competed in track and rally events at that time: these included the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo, the Lancia LC1, Lancia LC2, Lancia 037, Lancia Delta S4 and the Lancia ECV and ECV2 prototypes. From producing only bodies on other people's chassis, the company moved on to building entire cars such as the Fiat Campagnola and the Alfa Romeo 33 Giardinetta. Meanwhile it forged relationships with additional international manufacturers such as Honda and Jaguar. In 1986 the company decided on a further quantum leap with the listing of its shares on the stock exchange, while its production activities turned to other automobile models, including the Ferrari Testarossa, Alfa Romeo Spider, Fiat Fiorino, Lancia Thema Station Wagon, and many Peugeots. As for the design and engineering department, new agreements abroad with Daewoo, Cadillac, Bentley, and Mitsubishi are from these years, as well as the design of Peugeot's x05 and some x06 series, Alfa Romeo 164, Ferrari 288 GTO, Ferrari F40, and Fiat Coupé.In the same period, development of Italy's first high-speed train capable of reaching and exceeding 300 km/h, the ETR-500, also began in cooperation with Breda and TREVI consortium. These early years of the century are devoted to other important and well-known models, the Hyundai Matrix, Ferrari 575M Maranello and Ferrari Enzo, Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin, Alfa Romeo GTV, as well as unique models such as the Ferrari P4/5. Like many other automotive design companies, in addition to cars that later went into series production, Pininfarina presented concept cars at various shows, including the 1970 Ferrari Modulo, the 2000 Ferrari Rossa Concept, and the 2005 Maserati Birdcage 75th. On the morning of Aug. 7, 2008, Andrea Pininfarina, president and CEO of the historic Turin-based coachbuilder, died on the spot in a car accident in Trofarello, near the Cambiano Style Center, crashing his scooter into a car that had come out of a side street. He was succeeded in the presidency of the company by his brother Paolo. In early December 2008, U.S.-Italian designer Jason Castriota, moved to the Bertone body shop, becoming its style director. Castriota designed many cars for Pininfarina including the Ferrari P4/5, Maserati Birdcage 75th, Rolls Royce Hyperion, and collaborated on the Maserati GranTurismo, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. Also a creation of the Turin-based coachbuilder is the Ferrari 458 Italia, premiered in July 2009 and destined for the Frankfurt Motor Show that year for official presentation. On April 1, 2011, designer Fabio Filippini was appointed Design Director and took over the leadership of a team of about 100 creatives and designers. On July 3, 2012, Sergio Pininfarina, who led the company's growth over the past half-century (1961-2001), passes away. Also in 2012, Pininfarina forges an agreement with China's South East Motor to design a range of models for production; the first fruit of the collaboration is the DX7 crossover, a medium-compact that is unveiled in 2015 after work lasting about 3 years and enters production for the local market. Next comes the DX3, a compact crossover also destined for China. On December 14, 2015, the sale of the company, to the Indian Mahindra & Mahindra group, is announced.