The birth of the myth

“Ferrari and Pinin? It won’t last. It’s like putting two Prima Donna in the same opera”. This was the general opinion bandied round the automotive environment in the Fifties. Rash forecasts subsequently belied by facts. Since these two giants met, their combined marques have defined some of the most beautiful cars ever built in a constantly evolving relationship that has now lasted for more than 50 years and shows no sign of ending, as confirmed by the around 200 Ferraris designed by Pininfarina to-date.

Enzo Ferrari was born in 1898 and founded his Scuderia Ferrari in 1929, starting to build cars in 1947. Pinin Farina, born in 1893, founded his “Carrozzeria” in 1930. The meeting between “Pinin” and the Drake gives some idea of their characters. Back in 1951, initially, Ferrari let “Pinin” Farina know that he would like to meet him and invited him to Modena. The reply was: “I am very willing to meet him but I would rather he came first to Turin”. He was informed that Ferrari “rarely leaves Maranello”.

”Pinin” retorted that Turin is not at the end of the world. At this point, the negotiation seemed to have a ground to a halt. But son Sergio found the solution: a meeting on neutral ground. In the end, they finally shook hands at a restaurant in Tortona: half way between Turin and Modena. “At a certain point, it was clear – relates ”Pinin” in his autobiography – that one of us was looking for a beautiful, famous woman to dress and the other a world-class couturier to deck her out”. This marked the start of the long alliance between Ferrari and Pininfarina.