Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Artists of the day, January 23: The Pininfarina family, Italian car designers

Pininfarina is employed by a wide variety of automobile manufactures to design vehicles. These firms have included long-established customers such as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Fiat, GM, Lancia, and Maserati, to emerging companies in the Asian market with Chinese manufactures like AviChina, Chery, Changfeng, Brilliance, and JAC and Korean manufacturers Daewoo and Hyundai.

Since the 1980s Pininfarina has also designed high-speed trains, buses, trams, rolling stocks, automated light rail cars, people movers, yachts, airplanes, and private jets. With the 1986 creation of "Pininfarina Extra" it has consulted on industrial design, interior design, architecture, and graphic design.

At its height in 2006 the Pininfarina Group employed 2,768 with subsidiary company offices throughout Europe, as well as in Morocco and the United States. As of 2012 with the end of series automotive production, employment has shrunk to 821. Pininfarina is registered and publicly traded on the Borsa Italiana (Milan Stock Exchange).

© 2018. All images are copyrighted © by Pininfarina S.p.A. The use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission from the artist is obtained.



Battista "Pinin" Farina (later Battista Pininfarina) (1893–1966) was an Italian automobile designer, the founder of the Carrozzeria Pininfarina coachbuilding company, a name associated with many of the best-known postwar sports cars.

Battista Farina was born in Cortanze, Italy. The tenth of eleven children, his nickname, "Pinin" (the youngest/smallest (brother), in Piedmontese), referred to his being the baby of the family. Pinin started working in his brother Giovanni's body shop at the age of 12 and it was there that his interest in cars was born. He stayed at Giovanni's Stabilimenti Industriali Farina for decades, learning bodywork and beginning to design his own cars.

Battista formed Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 to focus on design and construction of new car bodies, and quickly gained prominence. Only Carrozzeria Touring was more sought-after in the 1930s. Battista's work for Ferrari, starting in 1952, would become his most famous, though much of it was managed by his son, Sergio, who ran the firm until shortly before his death, on 3 July 2012. Some time in the early 1950s Stabilimenti Farina was absorbed into the by now much larger Carrozzeria Pininfarina.

He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2004. Farina officially changed his name to "Battista Pininfarina" in 1961. The change was authorized by President of the Italian Republic, acting on a proposal made by the Minister of Justice.

The last design personally attributed to Battista Farina was the 1600 Duetto for Alfa Romeo. This was first seen by the public at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966. He died less than a month later. His nephew, Nino Farina, was the first Formula One world champion.
Mr Battista "Pinin" Farina



Battista at work

1931 Alfa Romeo 8c 2300

1935 PininFarina 6C Pescara Coupé Aerodinamica

1936 Lancia Aprilia Aerodinamica

1946 Coupé 202

1947 Cisitalia 202

1947 Maserati A6 1500 Berlinetta Speciale

1951 Ferrari 212

1951 Nash Healey

1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante

1952 Ferrari 212 Inter Cabriolet

1953 Ferrari 340 Berlinetta Competizione

1953 Lancia Aurelia B24

1954 Lancia Aurelia B24s

1957 Lancia Florida II

1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet

1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Cabriolet Pininfarina

1966 Alfa Romeo 1600 Duetto

1968 Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto

1968 Dino Berlinetta Speciale

1968 Ferrari p6 Berlinetta Speciale Pininfarina

1983 Fiat 124 Spide Europa Volumex

Ferrari 330 GTS


Sergio Pininfarina, born Sergio Farina, (1926– 2012) was an Italian automobile designer and Senator for life.

Pininfarina was born in Turin. After joining his father Battista Farina at Carrozzeria Pininfarina, he quickly became integral to the company, and during his career oversaw many of the designs (particularly Ferraris) for which the company is famous.

In 1965 it was Sergio Pininfarina who personally persuaded Enzo Ferrari to adopt a "mid-engined" engine configuration for a new line of road cars, with the engine positioned behind the driver, but ahead of the rear wheels. The resulting Ferrari Dino Berlinette Speciale was presented at the Paris Motor Show in October, although it would be another two years before the cars were offered for sale.

After his father's death in 1966, Pininfarina became chairman of the company. In 2006 Sergio and his son Andrea, who died in 2008, were named Honorary Chairmen of Pininfarina.

Between 1979 and 1988 Pininfarina was a Liberal Party MEP, where his party was a part of the European Liberal Democrat alliance. On 23 September 2005 he was named Senator for life of the Italian Republic.

On 21 February 2007 he attended the vote in which the government motion on foreign policy was defeated in the Senate and subsequently led to the resignation of then Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Pininfarina, who attended his first Senate assembly in nine months, cast an "abstain" vote, which helped the opposition forces to defeat the government foreign policy. After the aforementioned tally Pininfarina did not ever vote in the assembly again



Enzo Ferrari - Sergio Pininfarina

Sergio Pininfarina

Young Sergio Pininfarina

Sergio Pininfarina in Alfa Romeo

1954-62 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta PF 840



1959 Ferrari 410 Superamarica

1965 Ferrari Dino 206

1966-79 Fiat 124 Sport Spider

1967 Dino 206 Competizione Prototipo

1968 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS

1969 Dino 246 GTSi

1969 Ferrari Sigma Grand Prix Monoposto F1 by Pininfarina.

1969 V12-powered Ferrari Sigma Grand Prix

1970 Ferrari Pininfarina 512 S Modulo

1987 Alfa Romeo 164

1987 Ferrari F40

1990 Ferrari Testarossa

1990 Sergio Pininfarina with Ferrari Testarossa

1990 Testarossa

1995 Bentley Azure

2002 Enzo Ferrari

2002 Enzo Ferrari

2002 Enzo Ferrari

2004 Peugeot 406 Coupe

2006 The Pininfarina designed, Ferrari P4-5

2009 Ferrari 458 Italia 2 door Convertible

2009 Ferrari 458 Italia.

2009 Ferrari 458 Italia

2009 Maserati Quattroporte

Pininfarina Museum

Pininfarina Museum

Pininfarina Sergio Concept car

Pininfarina Sergio Concept car

Pininfarina Sergio Concept car

Pininfarina Sergio Concept car


 Andrea Pininfarina (1957 –  2008) was an Italian engineer and manager, former CEO of the Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina, founded by his grandfather in 1930 and still controlled by the family. He was the son of Sergio Pininfarina and was married to Italian aristocrat Cristina Maddalena Pellion di Persano.

Andrea graduated from Polytechnic of Turin as a mechanical engineer and in 1982 was employed by Fruehauf corporation in the United States of America. In 1983 he joined the family business as Program Manager of the Cadillac Allanté project. In 1987 he was promoted to Co-General Manager of the company, and in 1988 he became General Manager. In 2004 he was named by Businessweek as one of the "25 stars of Europe", in the category dedicated to innovators, while in 2005 he received the Eurostar 2005 award from The Automotive News Europe.

Pininfarina died while riding a Vespa near the company’s headquarters in Cambiano outside Turin, Italy. According to police a car driven by a 78-year-old man maneuvered from a side street around a parked lorry and pulled directly in front of Mr. Pininfarina.

Car prototype

Pininfarina bike

Pininfarina Pen

Pininfarina Perfume

Pininfarina Headphone

Pininfarina Bike

Pininfarina Concept car

Pininfarina Concept car

Pininfarina Furniture

Pininfarina Drone

Pininfarina Headphone



Pininfarina Pen









Pininfarina Chair

Pininfarina Coke machine

Pininfarina Coke machine















Pininfarina Chairs

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