Saturday, May 15, 2010


Pininfarina is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy.

Founded as Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina, Pininfarina has been employed by a wide variety of high-end automobile manufacturers, including Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Cadillac, Jaguar, Volvo, Alfa Romeo, and Lancia. It also has designed trams in France, high-speed trains in Holland, and trolleys in the USA. Since the 1980s Pininfarina has consulted on industrial and interior design.

Pininfarina was run by Battista's grandson Andrea Pininfarina until his death in 2008. Andrea's younger brother Paolo Pininfarina was appointed as successor.

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.

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 Scaglietti and Ferrari F50.

A recent privately-commissioned custom example was the Ferrari P4/5 of 2006, a one-car rebody 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 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'Elegance 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.

The Pininfarina B0 solar-electric concept, designed with Bolloré was shown at the 2008 Paris Motor Show featuring a range between charges of more than 150 miles (241 km) with an electronically limited 88-mile-per-hour (142 km/h) top speed, and an estimated acceleration to 37 miles per hour (60 km/h) in 6.3 seconds. The car has solar panels on the roof and on the nose, while its battery pack is said to last up to 125,000 miles (201,168 km). 

The company plans to reveal a new Alfa Romeo Spider Concept at the Geneva Motor Show on 2 March 2010.

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