Coches Pininfarina: libros - historia, modelos y técnica

On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Pininfarina, a marque synonymous with style and elegance applied to car design, a book that surveys, for the first time, the entire output of the Turin coachbuilder, model by model.
Produced in close collaboration with the company, it draws on invaluable photographic material accompanying brief contextualising texts.

Tracing the history of Pininfarina from its origins to the present day entails reviewing some of the most iconic models in automotive history: from the numerous Ferraris bodied by the historic partner of the Maranello firm to cars such as the Cisitalia 202, the Lancia Aurelia, the Alfa Romeo Duetto and 164, the Maserati GranTurismo through to the current models born under the aegis of the Indian firm Mahindra.
The book also covers the numerous Pininfarina concept cars that have written glorious pages in the history of design, raising the bar every time in terms of the excellence of the car product.

For almost 90 years Pininfarina has been synonymous with Italian coachbuilding. Some of the most iconic cars in the history of not only Italian but also worldwide motoring have been clothed by a firm that has been recognised as the creator of true works of art.

Battista Farina, known as "Pinin", was the master craftsman who in 1930 founded in Turin the `'Societa Anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina''. The quality and the beauty of his creations soon established the firm's reputation and well before the outbreak of the Second World War it could boast magnificent bodies on Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Fiat chassis. 1947 saw the presentation of a milestone in the history of Italian design, the Cisitalia 202.

Between the 1950s and 1990s the company produced iconic designs such as the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider and the "Duetto", the Lancia Aurelia B24 and the Flaminia, the Fiat Dino Spider and the 124 coupe, not to mention the innumerable Ferraris bodied by the prestigious Turin firm that from 1952 had become Maranello's coachbuilder of choice.
Numerous 250 GTs, the 250 Le Mans, the 365 Daytona, the 308 GTB, the Testarossa and the 288 GTO are all Pininfarina-bodied Ferraris.

This book recounts the most recent history of this giant of Italian car design with all the latest products realised in particular for the Asian market where the Pininfarina brand has an increasing presence.
There is also a chapter devoted to Pininfarina Extra, a brand within the brand, which since 1986 has been taking a 360 Degrees approach to design. The full story of this iconic Italian design firm finally told in a single volume.

A widowed and childless aunt played a notable role in the creation of 'Carrozzeria Pinin Farina'. In 1930, she gave a million lire to her 37-year-old nephew Giovanni Battista 'Pinin' Farina, who had demonstrated excellent skills working in the body shop owned by his older brother. With that capital, 'Pinin' started his own business, and quickly establishing himself for his creative genius and personality.
With a spirit worthy of a great Renaissance artist, since the 1930s he has distinguished himself in establishing the success of Italian style in the world.

Among the most important steps, the creation, immediately after the war, of the Cisitalia 202 Berlinetta, which totally influenced the style of sports cars, so much so that it earned a permanent place at the 'Museum of Modern Art' in New York.
In the history of the Turin workshop, the search for style and good taste have always come before pure financial interests. The number of cars 'dressed' by Pinin and his heirs (over 600 in just over 80 years) is surprising, but the overall quality level, which has never been compromised, is even more so.

A true gallery of the best Italian style designed for brands with the most varied of traditions, for which Pininfarina has always chosen the right proposal. In addition to the numerous one-off pieces, which have often formed part of the history of the automobile (for example, the Ferrari 375 MM 'Berlinetta Speciale' for actress Ingrid Bergman), there are also cars produced in series by the most important manufacturers or by Pininfarina itself. Like the Lancia Aurelia B20 and B24, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, the Fiat 124 Spider and 130 Coupé.

And it deserves a chapter all to itself, the sequence of Ferraris with the Pininfarina brand (over 160 models!), in many cases produced with the important contribution of Sergio Scaglietti's body shop in Modena. And within the history of Pininfarina-Ferrari, an even smaller but highly prestigious chapter, linked to the four special models created exclusively for the 'Avvocato' Gianni Agnelli.