Pininfarina

Pininfarina logo.

See also Battista Farina, founder of the company, his son Sergio Pininfarina and grandson Andrea Pininfarina.

Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy, founded in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina (following the company, his family name became Pininfarina in 1961, as a result of combining his nickname and surname).

Over the years the company has been employed by many automobile manufacturers, notably Ferrari, Maserati, Cadillac, Nash, Peugeot, Jaguar, Volvo, Alfa Romeo, MG, Cisitalia, and Lancia. Since the 1980s Pininfarina has also provided industrial design and interior design consultation to corporate clients. Furthermore, over the years the company has designed trams (e.g. those in Lille), trains (e.g. Dutch domestic high-speed trains currently being built), and trolleys (e.g. Boston Green Line). Until his death on August 7th, 2008, Pininfarina was run by Battista's grandson Andrea Pininfarina: the new responsibility designation is presently pending. The Pininfarina Group employs more than 3,000 people in subsidiary company offices throughout Europe, as well as in Morocco and China.

Pininfarina is registered and publicly traded on the Borsa Italiana (Milan Stock Exchange).

Pininfarina in the USA

After World War II, a number of automotive manufacturers were interested in working with Pininfarina, whose highly innovative Cisitalia 202 design had attracted wide attention.

The subsequent cooperation with Nash Motors resulted in high-volume production of Pininfarina designs and provided a major entree into the United States market. In 1952, Pininfarina visited the U.S. for the unveiling of his design for the Nash Ambassador and Statesman lines, which, although they did carry some details of Pininfarina's design, were largely designed by Nash's then-new in-house styling staff when the original Farina-designed model proved unsuited to American tastes. The Nash-Healey sports car body was, however, completely designed and assembled in limited numbers from 1952 to 1954 at Pininfarina's Turin facilities. Nash heavily advertised its link to the famous Italian designer, much as Studebaker promoted its longtime association with Raymond Loewy. As a result of Nash's marketing efforts, Pininfarina became well-known in the United States.

A similar arrangement was repeated in the late 1980s when Pininfarina designed (and partially assembled) the Cadillac Allanté for General Motors. The car's bodies were assembled and painted in Italy before being flown to Detroit for final vehicle assembly.

Pininfarina Sverige AB

Pininfarina Sverige AB in Uddevalla, Sweden, was established in 2003 as a joint venture (JV) between Volvo Cars and Pininfarina. The JV is owned 60% by Pininfarina and 40% by Volvo.

The C70 model -- the first car built by the joint venture- - was launched on 13 April 2006, sharing the Volvo P1 platform used in the S40. This vehicle, designed by John Kinsey, is a coupé convertible featuring a three piece retractable metal hardtop that can raise or lower in less than 30 seconds. The new C70 replaces both the current cabriolet/convertible and the coupé absent from Volvo's lineup since 2003. For the first time, the C70 will be offered with a normally-aspirated gasoline engine, as well as diesel engines with variable geometry turbocharger and common-rail direct injection.

Prototype and custom vehicles

In addition to production vehicles, Pininfarina creates prototype, show, and custom cars for auto manufacturers, as well as private clients. Most prototypes -such as the Ferrari Mythos- have served solely as concept cars, although several have become production models, including the Ferrari 612 and Ferrari F50.

A recent privately-commissioned custom example was the Ferrari P4/5 of 2006, a one-car rebody (changing the exterior design) of the Enzo Ferrari according to the client's specifications. Its design began in September 2005 with sketches by Jason Castriota moving through computer aided sculpture and stringent wind tunnel testing. More than 200 components were designed especially for the car though the engine, drivetrain and many other components are simply modified from the original Enzo Ferrari. The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is unchanged from the Enzo it was derived from. The P4/5 was publicly revealed on August 18, 2006 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elégance and shown again at the Paris Motor Show in late September. Another recent prototype is the Pininfarina Nido, a two seater sub-compact that could possibly make airbags obsolete.

Notable designs

1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300

1936 Lancia Aprilia

1938 Lancia Astura

1948 Cisitalia 202

1952 Ferrari 250

1952 Nash Ambassador

1952 Nash-Healey

1953 Four Berlinetta and one Spyder version of the Maserati A6GCS/53

1955 Peugeot 403

1955 Ferrari 410 Superamerica

1956 Austin A40 Farina

1957 Lancia Flaminia

1958 BMC Farina cars - Austin A55 Cambridge Mk II, MG Magnette Mk III, Morris Oxford V, Riley 4/68, Wolseley 15/60

1959 Fiat 1800/2100

1960 Peugeot 404

1961 Fiat 2300

1964 Ferrari 275

1965 Dino 206

1965 MGB GT

1966 IKA-Renault Torino

1966 Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider Duetto

1966 Ferrari 330 GTC

1966 Fiat 124 Spider

1966 Datsun 411

1966 Fiat Dino Spider

1967 Proposal for replacement for BMC 1800 (ADO17)

1967 Proposal for replacement for BMC 1100 (ADO16)

1968 Ferrari Daytona

1968 Peugeot 504 Cabriolet and Coupe

1971 Fiat 130 Coupe

1973 Ferrari 365 GT4 BB

1975 Lancia Montecarlo

1975 Ferrari 308

1975 Rolls-Royce Camargue

1976 Peugeot Peugette

1978 Jaguar XJ6

1983 Peugeot 205

1984 Ferrari Testarossa

1984 Ferrari 288 GTO

1984 Honda HP-X concept car<ref>1984 Honda HP-X concept, retrieved on August 7, 2008.</ref>

1985 Peugeot 205 Cabriolet

1985 Ferrari 328

1987 Alfa Romeo 164

1987 Cadillac Allanté

1987 Ferrari F40

1987 Peugeot 405

1989 Ferrari Mythos

1989 Ferrari 348

1992 Jaguar XJ220 - Rebodied an unknown number of cars

1994 Fiat Coupé

1994 Ferrari F355

1995 Alfa Romeo GTV & Spider

1995 MG F - Roof Structure only.

1996 Lancia Kappa SW

1997 Peugeot 306 Cabriolet

1997 Peugeot 406 Coupé

1999 Songhuajiang Hafei Zhongyi

1999 Mitsubishi Pajero

2000 Daewoo Tacuma

2000 Ferrari 550 Barchetta

2000 Ferrari 360 Spider

2000 Hispano Habit

2001 Citroën Osée

2001 Hyundai Matrix

2002 Ferrari 575M Maranello

2002 Enzo Ferrari

2002 Daewoo Lacetti

2002 Hafei Lobo

2003 Maserati Quattroporte

2004 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti

2005 Peugeot 1007

2005 Maserati Birdcage 75th

2006 Mitsubishi Colt CZC

2006 Volvo C70

2006 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

2006 Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina

2007 Brilliance BS4

2007 Ford Focus CC by Pininfarina

2008 Maserati GranTurismo

2009 Pininfarina Hyperion

2009 Pininfarina B0 EV Concept

2009 Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta (built for Wal-Mart Chairman Rob Walton)

2010 Alfa Romeo Spider Concept

2010 Pininfarina Nido EV Concept

Product design

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Among Pininfarina's notable product designs are the Torino 2006 Olympic torch and two luxury appliance collections for Gorenje.<ref name="Gorenje Pinifarina">{{#if: Gorenje Pinifarina

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Pininfarina Extra

Pininfarina Extra, founded in 1986, is the Pininfarina Group design company which does not work in the transport sector.

Alternative propulsion

Pininfarina has an area dedicated to the new electric car Pininfarina Bolloré. Batteries are produced by Bolloré Group.<ref>Pininfarina | Electric car</ref><ref>Start-Ups Race to Produce 'Green' Cars - WSJ.com</ref>

Gallery

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External links

• Official site
• Pininfarina Sverige
• Foster, Patrick R. "Nashes With an Italian Accent", FORWARD: The American Heritage of DaimlerChrysler, Winter 2001, pages 33-7.
• BMC 1800 & 1100 - detail on these extremely influential design proposals
• The Cisitalia 2002 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
• BMC 1800 & 1100 - detail on these extremely influential design proposals
• Some private photos of Pininfarina cars on Flickr
• Pininfarina Sintesi Concept first sketch revealed
• Pininfarina confirms Ferrari, Brembo and Sabelt as new shareholders
• Andrea Pininfarina, Dead At Age 51 In Motorcycle Crash
• Pininfarina’s Rolls-Royce Based Hyperion Unveiled
• Paolo Pininfarina announced to succeed his late brother
• Pininfarina unveils Nido EV prototype for modular EV platform
• The Golden Ferrari Revival by Pininfarina Uncovered