20 of the best: Pininfarina at 90

Celebrating a coachbuilding icon

Arguably the most famous name in car design, Pininfarina turns 90 this year – in fact its anniversary is today, Friday 22 May.

In that time, this legendary Italian coachbuilder has routinely turned out some of the most beautiful road, race and concept cars, sometimes taking on the construction duties, too.

We thought we’d struggle to narrow our list of favourites down to 50, so picking a mere 20 was a tall order. But we’re sure you’ll let us know which of your favourites we’ve missed!

1. 1936 Alfa Romeo 8C-2900A Pinin Farina Berlinetta

In the late 1920s Battista Pinin Farina breaks away from his brother’s coachbuilding firm, Stabilimenti Farina, to build his own business.

He establishes Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in May 1930 and picks up work from Cadillac, Fiat, Rolls-Royce and others. This stunning Alfa Romeo 8C-2900A Pinin Farina Berlinetta dates from 1936.

2. 1948 Cisitalia 202

Often cited as the first example of a new kind of car design, one whose influence is still felt today, the 202’s fluid lines were both beautiful and revolutionary – and quickly copied, both by rivals, and by Pinin Farina itself.

3. 1951 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn

Reputedly the most expensive car in the world at its creation in 1951, this coachbuilt Silver Dawn coupé was commissioned by a wealthy Milanese man by the name of Commendatore Luigi Bressani.

It’s no beauty next to a Bentley R-type Continental, let alone a Dino 246, but it certainly doesn't lack presence.

4. 1954 Lancia Aurelia B24 Spider

Just 240 Spider America versions of Lancia’s advanced Aurelia B24 were built, meaning few people ever had the chance to appreciate the elegant Pinin Farina lines or racy wraparound screen, let alone experience it for themselves.

5. 1955 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider

While Bertone got the commission to design the Sprint coupé version of Alfa’s Giulietta, the Spider gig went to Pinin Farina. And what a job it did.

The star of Alfa Romeo’s 1955 New York Auto Show stand was lithe, low and sporty, while under the bonnet there was a revvy 1.3-litre twin-cam motor.

6. 1959 Ferrari 250GT SWB

Pinin Farina wasn't the only design house creating Ferrari shapes in the 1950s, but it was quickly cementing its reputation as the go-to carrozzeria with cars like the 250GT Lusso and the 250GT SWB pictured above.

Built in a choice of steel or aluminium between 1959 and 1962, the two-seat 250 Berlinetta was, like the Lusso, designed by Pinin Farina, but the bodies were constructed by Scaglietti. 

7. 1960 X

Pinin Farina explored the extremes of aerodynamic efficiency – and plain wackiness – with this teardrop concept. And it wasn’t just the styling that was weird.

Below the skin it featured four wheels, but only one of them was at the front. Strangely, it never made it to production…

8. 1960 Alfa Romeo 6C-3000CM Superflow IV

Following Fangio’s second-place finish at the 1953 Mille Miglia, Alfa Romeo handed his 6C-3000 to Pinin Farina, which would go on to re-body it four times as a series of outlandish spiders and coupés.

The last iteration, Superflow IV, complete with a domed roof that could slide into the tail, survives today. The following year the carrozzeria ditched the space in its name, becoming Pininfarina, as founder Battista handed the reins to his son, Sergio.

9. 1965 MGB GT

By the early 1960s BMC had already contracted Pininfarina to work on its saloon cars so the design house was the obvious choice when MG needed a coupé version of its B roadster.

A simple shape mimicking the look of a B with a hardtop would have been the obvious choice, but instead Pininfarina designed an elegant – and practical – fastback.

10. 1966 Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider

Affordable when new, less so today, Pininfarina’s iconic mid-'60s Alfa Romeo Spider is one of its most famous designs, and remained in production with only relatively minor changes for almost 30 years.

Recognise the styling cues? The tapering nose and pretty boat-tail rear of the original Duetto cars borrow heavily from the Superflow IV concept (slide nine/number eight).

11. 1966 Fiat Dino Spider

Fiat’s Dino coupé and Spider siblings were built to help Ferrari homologate its compact V6 engine for Formula Two racing.

Bertone did a fine job of the coupé, but Pininfarina’s Spider was an absolute knockout. And since coupés outnumbered Spiders 3:1, it’s little surprise they’re worth vastly more today.

12. 1967 Ferrari Dino

Pininfarina’s other Dino is far better known, and for good reason. Routinely hailed as one of the world’s most beautiful cars, the baby mid-engined Ferrari, though it never wore that badge, used the same 2.0-litre (and later, 2.4) engines. The design was previewed on 1965’s Dino Berlinetta Speciale concept.

13. 1968 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona

Ferrari decided to stick with a front-engined layout for its 275GTB replacement, meaning it was up to Pininfarina to come up with something that could still turn heads like the Daytona’s mid-engined Lamborghini Miura rival.

It was a piece of cake for Pininfarina, though US safety legislation meant early cars’ fixed lights soon gave way to pop-ups.

14. 1969 Alfa Romeo 33/2 Coupé Speciale

More aggressive, if less beautiful than Alfa’s original 33 Stradale, this 1969 concept borrowed heavily from Pininfarina’s earlier Ferrari 250 P5.

15. 1970 Ferrari 512S Modulo

One of the most famous concept cars ever to grace a show stand, the Modulo was built around the chassis of a 512S racer and presented to the world at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show.

Ferrari obsessive James Glickenhaus, famous for commissioning Pininfarina to create his P4/5, bought the Modulo in 2014 and set about turning it into a fully driveable car.

16. 1975 Ferrari 308GTB

Pininfarina’s 308GTB almost managed the impossible task of looking as beautiful as the car it replaced, the 246 Dino.

Leonardo Fioravanti designed both, though instead of the steel panels used by the Dino, early 308s were built from glassfibre. When Ferrari switched back to steel in 1977, the 308 ballooned by 150kg/331lb.

17. 1983 Peugeot 205

Pininfarina’s association with Peugeot stretches back decades before the 205, but this humble compact remains one of its finest works. In fact, Pininfarina’s design team did such a great job on Peugeot’s seminal supermini it survived a 10-plus-year production run without a serious facelift.

Pininfarina went on to design a slew of Peugeot cars from the 106 and 306 hatchbacks, to the 405, 406 and 605 saloons, and the 406 coupé – which bore more than a passing resemblance to the coachbuilder’s own Ferrari 456.

18. 1993 Alfa Romeo Spider

Featuring design cues so controversial they could pass for the work of design anarchist Zagato, the 1993 Alfa Spider (and its 1994 GTV coupé brother) was certainly striking.

But Alfa decided to take design work in-house for its other big 1990s projects and, sadly, for every 156 there was a 166.

19. 1995 Ferrari F50

Besides drawing many of Ferrari’s regular production cars, Pininfarina also created the shapes for a string of halo models: the 1984 288GTO, 1987 F40, 1995 F50 and 2002 Enzo.

The reason we’ve picked the F50 to showcase this has nothing to do with the design, however, and more to do with the engine: it’s powered by an evolution of the naturally aspirated V12 fitted to Ferrari’s 1990 Formula One racers.

20. 2018 Pininfarina Battista

The new millennium brought hard times for Pininfarina and other classic styling houses as car makers concentrated on strengthening their own design teams.

The Pininfarina family was forced to sell its stake, but the future isn't so bleak. The modern Pininfarina company has revealed plans to build a striking 1977bhp electric hypercar from 2020, wearing its own badge and named Battista after the original firm’s founder.

Happy 90th birthday!