Sergio Pininfarina, who ran the famous Italian design house Pininfarina for about 40 years died aged 85 yesterday. He was credited with crafting the super sleek Ferrari race cars and created some of the most iconic and elegant car designs of the 20th century.
Sergio Pininfarina was born in Turin. His career started after earning a mechanical engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of Turin in 1950 and joining the family firm of Carrozzeria Pinin Farina. Sergio became the firm’s managing director in 1961, which was also the same year the company’s name changed to Pininfarina.
When Sergio Farina, as he then was, began playing a leading role in his father’s Turin-based design and coach building business in the mid-1950s, annual production at the company was fewer than 1,000 handcrafted units. By the end of the century, annual production had reached nearly 50,000 units and the company had grown to three manufacturing plants.
Sergio became best-known for his partnership with Enzo Ferrari, for whom he designed a series of beautifully sculpted models, including the 410 SA (1959); the 1965 Dino Berlinetta Speciale (Sergio’s own favourite); the Ferrari Testarossa (1984); the F40 (1987); and the Enzo (2002).
To read the full Sergio Farina article - The Telegraph
