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From 1930 to the present day, the name Pininfarina has been associated with some of the most significant, beautiful and era-defining cars in the history of the automobile. For much of that time, it has operated as a carrozzeria – a coachbuilder – providing inspirational designs and limited series production in partnership with other makes.
Today, Pininfarina is making a giant step into a new era of electrification with its own supercar. The all-electric Battista is designed, engineered and crafted in house by Automobili Pininfarina: a thrilling vision of the future and proof that beautiful design will always have the power to move us.
From 1930 to the present day, the name Pininfarina has been associated with some of the most significant, beautiful and era-defining cars in the history of the automobile. For much of that time, it has operated as a carrozzeria – a coachbuilder – providing inspirational designs and limited series production in partnership with other makes.
Today, Pininfarina is making a giant step into a new era of electrification with its own supercar. The all-electric Battista is designed, engineered and crafted in house by Automobili Pininfarina: a thrilling vision of the future and proof that beautiful design will always have the power to move us.
The company’s founder, Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina, was the youngest of 11 children and cousin to the first-ever Formula One World Champion, Nino Farina. ‘Pinin’ means ‘little one’ but Battista Farina became so widely known by his nickname that he changed his surname to Pininfarina with the personal permission of the President of Italy. He founded the company that would bear his name on May 22nd, 1930.
The 1930s were a golden age of coachbuilding. Makers of prestige cars like Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz and Bentley produced a rolling chassis, but body construction and design were provided by skilled artisans working as independent coachbuilders, or carrozzerie. Pininfarina was soon recognised as one of the very best.
Battisa Pininfarina was one of the first designers to understand the importance of aerodynamics and his company was a pioneer in the use of wind tunnel testing. Sweeping, sculptural and aerodynamically efficient designs like the 1935 Alfa Romeo 6C Pescara Coupé proved the worth of this approach – they were fast, beautiful and ahead of their time
One of Pininfarina’s most significant post-war creations was a sports car, the Cisitalia 202 of 1947. Instead of designing headlights, fenders and cabin as separate entities, Pininfarina conceived the whole car as one single flowing surface. It was the first car in the world to go on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and was described as ‘an aesthetic and technical achievement that transformed post-war automobile body design.’
Pininfarina’s growing fame led to a meeting with Enzo Ferrari, and what followed was a succession of iconic Ferrari models, from the Ferrari 212 of 1951 to the F12 Berlinetta of 2017. Pininfarina even helped persuade Enzo Ferrari to make the move to mid-engined sports cars, despite his long-standing reluctance. The acclaim for Pininfarina’s concept ‘Tre Posti’ 365 P laid the design foundations for the timeless lines of the 246 Dino and many mid-engined Ferraris to follow.
As sharply tailored as an Italian suit, Pininfarina’s ‘new look’ in the 1960s moved away from rounded surfaces towards a more crisp, angular bodystyle, pioneered by Battista’s master work, the Lancia Florida. It created a new design language for mainstream models such as the Peugeot 404, Austin Cambridge, Austin 1100 and Fiat 2300. In the latter half of the century, Pininfarina’s factory at Grugliasco was both designing and producing limited run models for makers as diverse as Alfa Romeo, Cadillac, Mitsubishi, Rolls-Royce and Volvo.
Many of Pininfarina’s futuristic concept cars influenced mainstream production models, though perhaps the rocket-shaped Pininfarina X of 1960, with its diamond-formation chassis (two wheels in the middle, one in front to steer and one at the rear to power) was too extreme to ever take to the roads! But others, like Pininfarina’s 1968 concept for a BLMC 1100, provided the template for the modern family hatchback at a time when boxy, upright saloons were the norm.
Pininfarina’s design influence has stretched beyond automobiles, to creations as diverse as watches, the Eurostar e320 train and even an Olympic torch. Today, under its president Paolo Pininfarina, Battista’s grandson, Pininfarina is part of the Mahindra Group, with a strong commitment to the future of sustainable mobility. The company offers design (automotive and non-automotive), engineering services as well as the production of small series or exclusive premium cars. As its flagship, the new 1900hp all-electric Battista demonstrates the company’s readiness to embrace the challenges of the future. At Pininfarina, emotive design and exhilarating performance are never out of fashion.
