Пининфарина: История итальянского автомобильного дизайна и кузовного производства.

Italian car design firm and coachbuilder
the Italian design house and coachbuilder

Pininfarina S. p. A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian multinational giant Mahindra Group acquired 76.06% of Pininfarina S. p. A. for about €168 million. Pininfarina is employed by a wide variety of automobile manufacturers 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, JAC and VinFast in Vietnam 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. Since the 1986 creation of "Pininfarina Extra", it has consulted on industrial design, interior design, architecture, and graphic design. Pininfarina was run by Battista's son Sergio Pininfarina until 2001, then his grandson Andrea Pininfarina until he died in 2008. After Andrea's death, his younger brother Paolo Pininfarina was appointed CEO. 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 Milan Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana.

When automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina broke away from his brother's coachbuilding firm, Stabilimenti Farina, in 1928, he founded "Carrozzeria Pinin Farina" with financial help from his wife's family and Vincenzo Lancia. That first year the firm employed eighteen and built 50 automobile bodies. On 22 May 1930 papers were filed to become a corporation, Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina headquartered in Turin, Italy, at 107 Corso Trapani. During the 1930s, the company built bodies for Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Isotta Fraschini, Hispano Suiza, Fiat, Cadillac, and Rolls Royce. With its close relationship with Lancia, the pioneer of the monocoque in automobile design, Farina became the first coachbuilder to build bodies for the new technique also known as unibody construction. This development happened in the mid 1930s when others saw the frameless construction as the end of the independent coachbuilder. In 1939, World War II ended automobile production, but the company had 400 employees building 150 bodies a month. The war effort against the Allies brought work making ambulances and searchlight carriages.

After the war, Italy was banned from the 1946 Paris Motor Show. The Paris show was attended by 809,000 visitors (twice the pre war figure), and queues stretched from the main gate all the way to the Seine. Pinin Farina and his son Sergio, determined to defy the ban, drove two of their cars (an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 S and a Lancia Aprilia cabriolet) from Turin to Paris and found a place at the entrance to the exhibition to display the two new creations. The managers of the Grand Palais said of the display, "the devil Pinin Farina", but to the press and the public, it was the successful "Turin coachbuilder's anti salon". At the end of 1945 the Cisitalia 202 Coupé was designed. An elegantly proportioned design with a low hood, it is the car that usually is given credit for establishing Pinin Farina's reputation. The Pinin Farina design was honored in the Museum of Modern Art's landmark presentation "Eight Automobiles" in 1951. A total of 170 Coupés were produced by Pinin Farina. The publicity of the Museum of Modern Art exhibit brought Pinin Farina to the attention of Nash Kelvinator managers. Since that meeting, a 61 year relationship endured where the only road going production Ferrari not designed by Pininfarina was the 1973 Dino 308 GT4. Pinin was a vice president of Ferrari, and Sergio later sat on Ferrari's board of directors. However, this special relationship came to an end with the 2012 17 Ferrari F12berlinetta, the last model fully penned by Pininfarina, while Centro Stile Ferrari has designed each car since 2013's LaFerrari.

From 1954 until 1955 Pinin Farina purchased land in Grugliasco, outside of Turin, for a new factory. "The factory in no way would look like the one of Corso Trapani. It would be a car no longer on my measurements but those of my children, built looking like them; I had this in mind and wanted it," said Farina. Around the same time, Alfa Romeo accepted Pininfarina's design over Bertone for the new Giulietta Spider. The Alfa was the first vehicle that Pinin Farina produced in large numbers. Alfa Romeo chose Pinin Farina to produce the Spider largely because they felt confident they could produce 20 cars daily for a run of 1,000 bodies. The Spider was a huge success for Alfa Romeo and Pinin Farina. Max Hoffman, the importer for the United States, said he could sell as many as they could make. In 1958, the first year of production, they produced 1,025 units which then expanded to over 4,000 in 1959, the first full year of the new Grugliasco factory.

Starting with the planning for the new plant in Grugliasco in 1956, Farina started to groom his replacements–Sergio his son, and Renzo Carli his son in law. To his heirs apparent, Farina said of the Corso Trapani facility, "This old plant has reached the limits of its growth. It has no room for expansion and is far from being up to date. If I were alone, I'd leave it as it is. But I want you to decide which way to go–to stay as we are or to enlarge. Either way is fine with me. It's your decision to make and I don't want to know what it is. I'm finished, and it's your time to take over. The future is absolutely up to you."

In 1961 at the age of 68, "Pinin" Farina formally turned his firm over to his son Sergio and his son in law, Renzo Carli, it was the same year that the President of Italy formally authorized the change of Farina's last name to Pininfarina, and the business took on the same name. Pininfarina was run by Battista's grandson Andrea Pininfarina from 2001 until he died in 2008. Andrea's younger brother Paolo Pininfarina was appointed successor.

Starting in the mid 1960s, Pininfarina started to make investments in the science of automotive design, a strategy to differentiate itself from the other Italian coachbuilders. In 1966, Pininfarina opened the Studies and Research Centre (Studi e Ricerche) in Grugliasco. The research centre occupied 8,000 sq. metres (2 acres) and employed 180 technicians capable of producing 25 prototypes a year. The Calculation and Design Centre was set up in 1967, the first step in the process of technological evolution that, during the 1970s, would take Pininfarina into the lead in automated bodywork design. Then in 1972 construction of a full sized wind tunnel was completed. The project was started in 1966. When it opened, it was the first wind tunnel with the ability to test full sized cars in Italy and one of the first in the world with this ability.

The 1980s started a period of expansion for Pininfarina. In 1982, the company opened "Pininfarina Studi e Ricerche" in Cambiano. It was separate from the factory and wind tunnel in Grugliasco to keep design and research activities independent from manufacturing. On 14 October 2002, Pininfarina inaugurated a new engineering center. The new facility, built at the Cambiano campus, gave greater visibility and independence to the engineering operations. In 1983, Pininfarina reached an agreement with General Motors to design and build the Cadillac Allanté. The Allanté project led to the building of the San Giorgio factory in 1985. In 1996, Mitsubishi entered into talks for Pininfarina to build their new compact SUV, the Pajero, in Italy. While Mitsubishi recognized Pininfarina's expertise in design and engineering, the reason for choosing them was that manufacturing costs were half of those in Germany. After entering into an agreement in 1996, Pininfarina purchased an industrial site at Bairo Canavese near Turin, Italy. in April 1997, Bairo Canavese was dedicated to the production of the new Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin. Pininfarina Sverige AB in Uddevalla, Sweden, was established in 2003 as a joint venture (JV) between Volvo Cars and Pininfarina to produce a new Volvo convertible that will be sold in Europe and the United States. The JV is owned 60% by Pininfarina and 40% by Volvo. The C70 model designed by Volvo's John Kinsey—was launched on 13 April 2006, sharing the Volvo P1 platform used in the S40.

Pininfarina has helped to plan multi family residences with Cyrela Real Estate. Related Group, and commercial projects with Bosque Real, Roadside Development, and Higold Group. They were also involved in the building of the Istanbul Airport and Juventus Arena. In 2016 Pininfarina, in collaboration with Reflex, created the Segno furniture Collection; an integrated modular system. They have also collaborated with Italian wood distributor Corà Parquet, to develop wooden flooring surfaces as well as Higold on a line of outdoor furniture.

Mahindra Group, owner of Indian automobile company Mahindra & Mahindra agreed to buy Italian car designer Pininfarina SpA in a deal worth about 168 million euros.

Opened in 1958 with nearly 1,000 employees, by 1960 output exceeded 11,000 car bodies. In 2009 Pininfarina sold the factory to Finpiemonte, the public finance of the Piedmont Region, at the price of 14.4 million euro. Finpiemonte, as part of the deal, leases the plant to Gian Mario Rossignolo at a rent per year for six years renewable. The Grugliasco sale did not include an adjacent structure that houses the wind tunnel.

Opened in 1986 to build Cadillac Allante bodies for General Motors, the same year Pininfarina was first listed on the Stock Exchange in Milan. Automotive production ended at San Giorgio with the conclusion of the Ford production in July 2010 and the Alfa Romeo production in November 2010.

Pininfarina opened its third manufacturing plant in 1997. Currently, Pininfarina leases the plant and 57 employees to the Cecomp Group. This agreement to produce 4,000 electric Bolloré Bluecars runs from 1 April 2011 to 31 December 2013.

A joint venture between Pininfarina S. p. A. and Volvo Car Corporation began in 2003. Volvo and Pininfarina S. p. A. have agreed to terminate the joint venture agreement regarding Pininfarina Sverige AB and its operations in Uddevalla, Sweden. As of 31 December 2011, the termination of this agreement would result in a 30 million euros fee paid to Pininfarina.

On 27 November 2018, it was announced that Automobili Pininfarina had invested over €20m in Pininfarina design services to support plans for its range of luxury electric cars. This includes design and engineering services for the first Pininfarina branded performance car which is a luxury electric sports car called the Battista (named after company founder Battista 'Pinin' Farina and originally codenamed PF0). With four electric motors, the car is supposed to be able to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in under two seconds with a top speed of Automobili Pininfarina plans to reveal the car at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show.

In 2018, Pininfarina also worked with Mahindra to produce the Furio mass transport truck. In 2020, Pininfarina received four Good Design awards for its automotive creations, including the AutoNomia, an autonomous driving simulator, and the Green Motion Residenza electric car refueling station. In 2021, the company debuted its Teorema style of electric vehicle for autonomous driving, that uses the space where a wheel is generally stationed in most cars for additional seating room. They also partnered with Gaussin to create the H2 Racing Truck. In 2022, Pininfarina expanding its retail partner network in North America to include shops in Chicago and Orange County.

Pininfarina has worked within the nautical sector, collaborating with Beneteau, Primatist, Fincantieri, Schaefer, Persico Marine, Wally, and Princess. Pininfarina designed the external livery and interiors of the Eurostar’s e320 train in 2015. Pininfarina was also involved with the design of the new Leitner Station. Pininfarina designed the Costa Coffee CEM 200 Marlow Self Serve Espresso Bar. and the Coca Cola Freestyle. They also partnered with Bovet 1822 on the Flying Tourbillon wristwatch, creating the Bovet by Pininfarina Collection, in addition to Chivas Regal to produce a limited edition 18 year old scotch whisky. In 2018, Pininfarina partnered with De Rosa to produce the Metamorphosis bicycle. In 2015, Pininfarina partnered with Hexagon Partners to produce the Global Evo CMM. In 2017, the company partnered with Cisco to design the Catalyst 9000 switch. Pininfarina was asked to design a new spray gun for Anest Iwata, creating the Supernova Pininfarina. In 2021, Pininfarina created the “straddle tractor concept” for use in grapevine picking operations.

Pininfarina also works with other companies such as SimpleTech for product design. Other Pininfarina product designs include the 2006 Winter Olympics torch, cauldron and medals, as well as major appliance collections for Gorenje. In December 1999, Pininfarina cooperated with Casio and designed a watch under its label, the G Shock GE 2000. However, the watch received criticism due to its weak strap, which was vulnerable to breaking during regular use. Pininfarina was a design contractor for the development of the Coca Cola Freestyle drinks dispenser. Pininfarina was asked to design a new spray gun for Anest Iwata, creating the Supernova Pininfarina. Pininfarina designed the 1100 Millecento Residences interiors in Miami, Florida in 2012 and the beachwalk waterfront residences interiors in Hallandale Beach, Florida in 2013.