Pininfarina
Pininfarina (short for Carozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian design firm and coachbuilder in Turin, Italy, founded in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina (Following the company, his surname 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 and Lancia. Since the 1980's Pininfarina has also provided industrial design and interior design consultation to selected corporate clients.
Today Pininfarina is run by Battista's grandson Andrea Pininfarina. The Pininfarina Group currently employs over 3,000 people in subsidiary company offices throughout Europe, as well as in Morocco and China.
Pininfarina in the USA
After World War II, a number of automotive manufacturers were interested in working with Pininfarina. In 1952, Pininfarina visited the United States for the unveiling of his design for the Ambassador. In addition, the Nash-Healey sports car was built in limited numbers from 1952 to 1954 at Pininfarina's Turin facilities. The work with Nash, which resulted in high-volume production of Pininfarina designs, provided a major entree into the U.S. market, and as a result of Nash's marketing efforts, Pininfarina became well-known in the United States. In the late 80's 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.
Prototype and Custom Vehicles
In addition to production vehicles, Pininfarina creates prototype, show and custom vehicles, for auto manufacturers as well as private clients. Most prototypes 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 of the Ferrari Enzo according to the client's specifications.
Pininfarina Sverige
The 2006 Volvo C70 will be the first Pininfarina car built outside Italy. The two companies formed Pininfarina Sverige AB to build the car in Uddevalla, Sweden. This joint venture is owned by Pininfarina and Volvo Cars in a 60/40 split.
Notable designs
- 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300
- 1936 Lancia Aprilia
- 1952 Ferrari 250
- 1955 Ferrari 410 Superamerica
- 1956 Austin A40 Farina
- 1957 Lancia Flaminia
- 1962 British Leyland 1100 (ADO16) line
- 1964 BMC 1800 (ADO17) line
- 1964 Ferrari 275
- 1965 Dino 206
- 1966 Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider Duetto
- 1966 Ferrari 330 GTC
- 1966 Fiat 124 Spider
- 1966 Fiat Dino Spider
- 1968 Ferrari Daytona
- 1968 Peugeot 504
- 1971 Fiat 130 Coupe
- 1973 Ferrari 365 GT4 BB
- 1975 Lancia Montecarlo
- 1975 Rolls-Royce Camargue
- 1978 Jaguar XJ-S
- 1984 Ferrari Testarossa
- 1986 Cadillac Allanté
- 1986 Peugeot 205 Cabriolet
- 1987 Alfa Romeo 164
- 1987 Ferrari F40
- 1994 Fiat Coupé
- 1997 Peugeot 306 Cabriolet
- 1997 Peugeot 406 Coupé
- 1999 Peugeot 406 Berlina
- 1999 Songhuajiang Zhongyi Hafei
- 1999 Mitsubishi Pajero
- 2000 Daewoo Tacuma
- 2000 Ferrari 550 Barchetta
- 2000 Hispano Habit
- 2002 Ferrari 575M Maranello
- 2002 Enzo Ferrari
- 2002 Daewoo Nubira
- 2003 Maserati Quattroporte
- 2006 Volvo C70
External links
http://www.pininfarina.it/ Official site