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Born in Turin September 8, 1926, Sergio Pininfarina took over management of the family company created by Gian Battista and his father put his stamp on some of the finest cars in the last half century. Italian designer was also responsible for the shape of many Peugeot cars, including the coupe and cabriolet 403, 404, 504 and 406 coupe.
But Pininfarina has been above all the preferred designer of Ferrari from 1952. Sergio also played a significant role in the first meeting between his father and Enzo Ferrari. "Without admitting it, Gian Battista Pininfarina and Ferrari Enzo dreamed of meeting", said Jacques Swaters (1926-2010, the first Ferrari importer in Europe and founder of the Ecurie Francorchamps, for the 24 Hours of Le Mans) in 2007, "to mark the sixtieth anniversary of Ferrari. Sergio Pininfarina and Girolamo Gardini, the Commendatore's assistant, met to organize a lunch at a restaurant halfway between Modena and Turin". At that lunch a seamless collaboration was created that would give birth to many legendary cars: including the Dino 246 GT, Ferrari 250 GT, Daytona, 308 GTB, Testarossa and F40. Note also the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider (1955) and more recently the Maserati GranTurismo. The Pininfarina Cambiano Concept presented in the video above is a hybrid concept, with diesel at the front and four electric motors (one per wheel).
Sergio Pininfarina passed away four years after his son Andrea, who had succeeded him in 2002 until his fatal traffic accident on the 7th of August 1988. To his family and loved ones, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest expresses its deepest sympathy.
Jean-Philippe Doret
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