Famed designer Sergio Pininfarina who designed state-of-the-art Ferrari masterpieces since the year 1950s and whose name is still synonymous with some of the world’s most glamorous cars, died at the age of 85 in Turin, Italy.
Since a very young age Pininfarina had been groomed by Gian Battista his father, who founded the influential car design house in 1930. After graduating in mechanical engineering from Turin’s Polytechnic University, he rose to become the chairman when his father died in 1966. By then, the company had already risen to prominence thanks to their pioneering work in aerodynamics and stylish design trends.
In 1952 Gian Battista initiated the design house’s connection with Ferrari. It was Sergio who ended up managing most of the projects and turned the business from that of a craftsman level into a world renowned design house. In his half-a-century reign, Sergio Pininfarina helped the company in raising its automobile production from 524 units per year to more than 50,000 units – ashowcase of his level of perfection and achivement with his humble family traditions.
Some of his world renowned master-pieces included the 1947 Cisalfa coupe, the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Rondine, the 1986 Cadillac Allante, the 1995 Bentley Azure, the 1996 Peugeot 406 Coupe, the 1986 Fiat 124 Spider, the 1984 Ferrari Testarossa, the 2002 Ferrari Enzo, the 2003 Maserati Quattroporte and the 2004 Ferrari Scaglietti.
Besides the historic partnership with Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina also designed cars for Rolls-Royce and other non-Italian brands. He truly was a master-craftsmen. Rest in peace, Sergio Pininfarina.
