Italy mourns Ferrari design genius Pininfarina

[Zorro]

The Italian godfather of car design, Sergio Pininfarina, renowned for crafting sleek Ferrari race cars and revolutionising the common auto, died in Italy's motoring capital Turin on Tuesday aged 85.

Born in 1926 near Turin in the industrial north of the country, Pininfarina worked with top carmakers during his long career, designing the Ferrari Testarossa, Fiat 124 Spider, Fiat Dino and Maserati GranTurismo, among others.

His death was mourned by many in the car and design industries.

"His genius brightened the history of the car," Fiat said on Twitter, while the head of Maserati, Harald Wester, said "Italy has lost one of its most prestigious world ambassadors, and Maserati has lost a great friend."

More at: http://news.yahoo.com/italy-mourns-ferrari-design-genius-pininfarina-115441481.html

[DJ13]

1. I owned one of his designs, the Fiat X-19

Fun little (very little) car.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

2. His designs were perfection to me

Last edited Fri Jul 6, 2012, 02:58 AM - Edit history (1)

and I know I'm old and completely out of step with the times because I generally hate the look of modern cars. The Pininfarina design for the French-made Simca Sport 8 was one I always found particularly attractive.

1950 Simca Sport 8



And another beautiful Pininfarina design was this Ford Comete built in Europe.

[leveymg]

3. I fell in love with the shape of the Alfa Romeo P33 Concept Car

Pininfarina really embodied the best of the high modernism of the late '60s. All swoops and curves, but very, very purposeful and effective aerodynamics. Beautiful beast. So is the red Fiat Dino behind it.

[Gregorian]

5. I had a mad crush on the Ferrari Dino

I used to ride my bike down the street in the evening just to gaze at the beauty of that car.

[leveymg]

6. Another piece of art by the same gifted designer.

Sculpture with a purpose. Compare the production Dino you posted with the competition 206 SP designed by Pierro Drogo, and then the one-off Pininfarina concept car.

Drogo 206 SP:


Pininfarina 206 Concept:

[Gregorian]

7. I'd give anything for that kind of artistic abiilty.

As a side note, I've been working with a fellow who is a lifelong friend of the man who designed the '63 Corvette. And the 240Z. Those are some landmark designs.

Had the Dino not had that v6 mid engine that was impossible to work on, I'd have bought one. Instead I got the Porsche 928. I never really liked the 928 design, but it has it's beauty.

[leveymg]

9. The C2 Vette had several chief designers. Which one? The shape owes a lot to two cars:

The C2 was designed by Larry Shinoda under the direction of GM chief stylist Bill Mitchell. Inspiration was drawn from several sources: the contemporary Jaguar E-Type, one of which Mitchell owned, but I think the split-window '63 Sting Ray also owes a lot to the work of another great Italian master. Note the rear and fender lines of the '55 Bertone BAT 9 Alfa:



'63 Sting Ray Coupe:

[Gregorian]

11. It wasn't the Stingray. It was the previous design.

I don't recall the designer's name. But evidently the Corvette design was done during his last year as a college student. They took one look at it and hired him.

I could find out the name of the guy. He's still around. He is also credited with the Bank of America logo. Some people just have that creative ability.

I'm a mechanical engineer. But my real creativity comes from developing ideas. I'm working on a carbide drill right now that's really taking some effort. It's more of a trial and error process. But I have no illusions. Making something that works, and getting it on to a shelf are two different jobs.

[burrowowl]

4. Passing of an age

RIP Pininfarina!

[hifiguy]

8. One of the most brilliant designers of all time.

While not every Pininfarina design was a classic, a ridiculously high percentage of his cars rank with the immortals.

I am especially fond of this one, because I actually drove one once. It was even the same color:

[econoclast]

10. Wow! First Carroll Shelby now this

There is some bar in the great beyond with REALLY COOL doodles on the napkins!