Maranello, 31 October, 2012

An exhibition commemorating 60 years of collaboration between the late Sergio Pininfarina and Ferrari, was inaugurated at the Museo Ferrari in Maranello during the morning of Friday 26 October 2012. The opening ceremony was attended by Ferrari Chairman, Luca di Montezemolo, Piero Ferrari, Paolo Pininfarina, current President of the family company, and members of the Pininfarina family, including Sergio’s wife Giorgia. After a welcome speech from the museum director, Antonio Ghini, both Paolo Pininfarina and Luca di Montezemelo spoke about the great and valuable contribution that Sergio Pininfarina had made to the styling of Ferraris over the years, before Giorgio Pininfarina cut the ceremonial Italian tricolore ribbon to declare the exhibition commemorating the achievements of her late husband officially open.

At the main entrance to the museum area is the Modulo concept car from 1970, which even today looks space age in its execution, with the finely crafted wooden body buck mounted on the wall behind it, thereafter the exhibition is divided into three main categories, the concept cars, the racing cars and the GT cars. There were five concept cars on display, apart from the Modulo there was 1968 P6, from which developed the wedge styling used on the 365 and 512 Boxers, plus the 308 series during the seventies, this theme continuing through to the 1984 GTO. There was also the Sigma F1from 1969, which featured many forward thinking safety ideas, a number of which are standard fare in today’s F1 cars, then there was the Pinin from 1980, the only four door Ferrari concept, which was shelved at the request of Enzo Ferrari, and the Testarossa based Mythos from 1989.

Although Pininfarina aren’t renowned for the design of racing cars, they produced some exciting and powerful designs for Ferrari, particularly in the early to mid fifties, with 250, 340 and 375 MM models, along with the 500 Mondial. Examples of the 250 MM Berlinetta, 375 MM Spider, resplendent in Carrera Panamericana livery, and 500 Mondial Berlinetta, looking elegantly aggressive in French blue, feature as part of the exhibition, along with the dual purpose road/race 250 GT SWB Berlinetta and 250 LM from the sixties, and the 512 BB/LM on which they carried out aerodynamic studies in their full size wind tunnel, the first in Italy, in the early eighties.

The road car display is the most prolific, with eleven examples on display, running from a 250 GT Coupe from 1958, through to the 2010 SA Aperta, the SA prefix being a homage to Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina. There are also some rarities, including the unique 360 Barchetta LdM, which was commissioned by Giovanni Agnelli as a wedding gift for Luca di Montezemelo in 2000, the 365 GT4/BB prototype, and the 330 GTC “Speciale from 1967, which was built for the Belgian Princess Liliane de Rethy, who along with King Leopold, was no stranger to custom built Ferraris by Pininfarina.

The exhibition runs daily until 07 January 2013, during the normal museum opening hours from 09.30 to 18.00, excluding Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. A large format, newspaper style, catalogue of the exhibition is available for purchase at the museum ticket desk.

Keith Bluemel
10/2012