sign in sign up
<<
Home , Automobili Pininfarina, Cisitalia, Geneva Motor Show, Lancia, Lancia Aprilia, Paolo Pininfarina

MAY 2021/PRESS RELEASE

PININFARINA. THE SHAPE OF THE FUTURE 90 YEARS OF STYLE AND INNOVATION ON SHOW AT THE MAUTO IN From 20 May to 12 September 2021

Turin, 20 May 2021 – The MAUTO - Museo Nazionale have shown the world intriguing formal and technical dell’Automobile di Torino today inaugurates the exhibition solutions that respect the environment and resources “La Forma del Futuro” (The Shape of the Future), an while still being driven by design. In some cases, these extraordinary exhibition that, with the contribution of fanciful four-wheeled creations were born to seduce 16 exceptional , narrates ’s innate ability manufacturers and public at international motor shows, to envisage the future and give it form by staying ahead but they also contain solutions designed for future of the times and setting trends. A selection of research mobility. In others, the research was driven by or was a prototypes, dream cars and exclusive cars testifying to response to environmental issues and energy crises. the genius expressed by the world’s most famous Italian In these cases the insistence was on aerodynamic forms design house over three generations and more than and alternative technologies and materials to make 90 years of history, with an approach to design that, by vehicles lighter and less polluting. Models that explore combining style and function, has left its signature on the and impact new aesthetic and technological trends, some evolution of the motor . evolutionary, others extreme, but always outside the aesthetic canons of their epoch. And also models whose Pininfarina has always designed with an eye to a better modernity and unique forms have made them museum future, including where cars are concerned. Its concepts icons or limited editions.

WWW.PININFARINA.COM MAY 2021/PRESS RELEASE

From this unparalleled journey of innovation spanning with talent, have made a fundamental contribution almost a century comes “The Shape of the Future”, to the progress of the motor car. an exhibition that will remain open to the public until 12 September 2021. The exhibition will include an audio Starting with Founder Pinin Farina, a pioneer in the guide to be enjoyed independently and in complete evolution of style and the study of aerodynamics, safety: visitors will be accompanied by the voice of which he described as “the form of speed”: as early Chairman . To access his video as 1936 he embraced the cause of modernity with the narratives, all you have to do is scan the QR codes revolutionary Aprilia concept, and went on to sculpt located along the exhibition route with your cell phone. memorable bodies like the 202 and countless models for prestigious brands such as , , Today, for the inauguration, two more jewels testifying and Rolls-Royce. His aptitude for innovation to a history of innovation-driven design always in the was inherited by his son , who in name of the most authentic Pininfarina style will be on 1972 at the height of the oil crisis took the decision to display: the first is the 1965 Berlinetta Speciale, build ’s first Wind Tunnel, turning concepts like a one-off item just restored in the Pininfarina studio energy efficiency, emissions and eco-sustainability in for a private collector as part of the into household words. Concepts that he would later restoration and certification of authenticity programme revisit with countless research prototypes such as reserved for owners of models designed and built by the 1978 Ecos, the first electrically driven car, or the Pininfarina. Next to the Dino, a styling preview of the Compasso d’Oro-winning CNR. In the 2000s it was the driving simulator designed and built by Pininfarina family’s third generation that drove innovation. Andrea for The Classic Car Trust, inspired by the forms of the Pininfarina launched a series of research projects on legendary Cisitalia 202, created to offer gentleman the forms and technologies of the future, including the drivers, through new technologies, the thrill of driving BlueCar electric city car and the spectacular Sintesi, the most prestigious classic cars. with which Pininfarina became one of the very first players to explore the theme of connectivity and “On an anniversary of such importance for our infotainment. Today’s Chairman, Paolo Pininfarina, took company, which we are celebrating at the Mauto a up the baton with projects that made environmental year late because of the health emergency”, explains sustainability a hallmark, from the Nido EV and Chairman Paolo Pininfarina, “we look back on our Cambiano electric concepts to the first hydrogen- journey by focusing on masterpieces that, each in powered H2 Speed track car, and the Battista electric their own way, have represented a leap forward in car hypercar, which would become a small series produced design. Design is able to constantly enrich people’s lives in Pininfarina’s Cambiano atelier. and provide the foundation on which to imagine a new future. This is our mission, and it will remain so fo The Mauto exhibition is not limited to celebrating the the next 90 years”. insights of the past, but aims to stimulate reflection on the cars of tomorrow. “The form of the future is always The 16 models on display not only tell the story of front and centre of our thinking”, comments CEO Silvio a company that has grown under the banner of Angori. “In the next decade cars will no longer be the innovation and a brand that has spread same as we have designed and built for 90 years. They around the world. They also tell the story of men who, will be connected, shared, electrified and autonomous. with their intuition and ability to surround themselves We are part of this revolution. The cross-fertilisation of

WWW.PININFARINA.COM MAY 2021/PRESS RELEASE

all our skills, from automotive to architecture, from Looking once again at the masterpieces present in the interior design to experience design, will determine exhibition, and the others exhibited by us permanently, the mobility of the Pininfarina-signed future”. I see a continuous synthesis emerge that defines the idea of a universal classicism: every car, every Benedetto Camerana, President of MAUTO, prototype, while responding to the needs of a historical comments: “The exhibition for Pininfarina’s 90th moment and anticipating it. others in the making, anniversary renews MAUTO’s commitment to it imposes itself on the eye for its timeless value, promoting scientific knowledge of automobile design. suspended between past and future. The exemplary Celebrating the extraordinary history of the Turin case of this condition is the Cisitalia 202, a work of brand, also exploring its future paths, for us means industrial art that since 1947 and from Turin continues enhancing the great competence of our territory. to conquer the eyes of the world”.

THE EXHIBITION ITINERARY instantly defined as ‘sculpture in movement’ and was the first car in the world to be exhibited in a Museum of The exhibition is organised in thematic areas. It Modern Art, the MoMA in New York. begins with the ART section, which must perforce be dedicated to the Pininfarina icon par excellence, The STYLE area introduces the research that would the Cisitalia 202. This masterpiece shows us how dictate styling decisions of the years to come. A constant Carrozzeria Pinin Farina interpreted innovation in in Pininfarina’s history, always pursuing the number the first decades of its history, in a perfect blend one objective, namely the creation of cars expressing of heritage and avant-garde. The Cisitalia takes on beauty and typically Italian good taste. An approach that the role of symbolic watershed in the history of car finds incredible confirmation in the partnership with design: its style, in fact, foreshadows the lines and Ferrari, this year celebrating its 70th anniversary. There design that would distinguish the Sixties as a whole. are countless models that, at the time of their debut, With the Cisitalia, innovation became art: it was featured solutions that we would find a few years later

WWW.PININFARINA.COM MAY 2021/PRESS RELEASE

in successful production cars. Examples of this are to be found in the three on display. The P6, described by Paolo Pininfarina as ‘the mother of all berlinettas’, was destined to remain just a styling study, but its lines - its sharp, elongated nose and rectangular Carello lights - are a preview of the stylistic language that characterised the Ferrari range in the 1970s. And the 1971 Berlinetta Boxer is a case in point, even though at first glance it might look completely different. Presented as a styling prototype at the 1971 Turin Motor Show, the BB marked ’s conversion to the mid-engine solution. This prototype was the starting point for the in recyclable resin, innovative two-stroke engine with series production of the 365 GT4 in 1973, albeit with the reduced emissions, culminating in 1995 with the Ethos necessary modifications dictated by experimentation 3EV, a zero-emission car. At the end of the Nineties, and industrial requirements. Completing the Ferrari Pininfarina turned its attention to research into hybrid triptych is the Sergio , created in 2013 as a vehicles with projects like the Metrocubo which, with tribute to Sergio Pininfarina and then translated, two its modular cabin and pared down dimensions, also years later, into a small series of six units. A radical offered a response to problems of city and medium- and essential performance-oriented object, where range traffic. In 2004, the company returned to a the windscreen is replaced by a “virtual windscreen” theme already anticipated with prototypes such as designed in the Wind Tunnel with the function of the Sigma and Alfa Romeo P33: safety. With the diverting the flow of air above the driver’s head. Nido project, Pininfarina once again addressed the theme of the city car with a concept conceived as a This is followed in the RESEARCH area by a line-up of protective nest around the two passengers. Its design models showcasing formal and aerodynamic research, was universally acclaimed and was awarded the studies on safety and interior architecture, experiments Compasso d’Oro. with new recyclable and ecocompatible materials, and the application of environmentally friendly propulsion Leaving the RESEARCH area we enter the second part systems. During the energy crisis of the 1970s, for of the exhibition where each exhibit is a matchless example, the car industry focused on aerodynamics spectacle. We begin with the TECHNOLOGY area, and alternative energy sources to reduce petrol where we find two research objects applied to the consumption. Pininfarina responded by developing world of racing cars. On the one hand, we have the CNR Energetica 1 prototype, an ideal aerodynamic the Sigma Grand Prix from 1969, a project for a body form. The 1990s witnessed a deeper awareness of Formula 1 single-seater that brings together original environmental problems, more research into recyclable safety concepts and solutions aimed at drastically materials and ergonomics, and a more efficient concept reducing the risk aspect intrinsic to the sport. On the of vehicle packaging. Pininfarina offered new solutions other hand, the H2 Speed, the first track car to use with the Ethos macro-project, a family of three eco- innovative hydrogen-powered fuel cell technology: compatible vehicles of different configurations (spider, the result is a zero-emission powerhouse that does coupé, city car) with an aluminium chassis, bodywork over 300km/h, voted Concept Car of the Year 2016.

WWW.PININFARINA.COM MAY 2021/PRESS RELEASE

Before the grand finale, the exhibition presents the performance segment, boasting as its MITO area, a look at those masterpieces whose strong point an electric powertrain that means zero timeless styling has lodged them in the collective emissions in the urban cycle. It is no coincidence that imagination as synonyms of the beautiful Italian car, it won the ADI Design Index 2013 Innovation Award. often thanks also to Hollywood: among them, the Environmental sustainability can also be found in Duetto driven by Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate, the interior, partly made with recycled wood from here evoked in some of its details, as well as in its the “briccole”, the oak poles used to mark navigation name, by the 2uettottanta concept car. The spider routes in the Venice lagoon. Finally, the Battista, of the future according to Pininfarina debuted in the electric hypercar concept presented at the 2019 Geneva in 2010 on the occasion of the Company’s by , the 80th anniversary. A concept representing an new sustainable luxury car brand controlled by innovative vision, projected into the third millennium, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. An emblem of Pininfarina’s of a theme that is firmly present in Pininfarina’s roots, mastery in the design and crafting of exclusive cars, the 2-seater spider. the Battista will feature world-class performance, cutting-edge technological innovations and, of course, Closing the circle is the FUTURE area, where we uniquely elegant styling. Designed and co-developed see how Pininfarina views the world to come. In the by Automobili Pininfarina and Pininfarina SpA, the meantime there are two concepts which, in their Battista will be produced in 150 individually handmade different ways, reflect Pininfarina’s vision of the units at the Pininfarina atelier in Cambiano. Bearing car of tomorrow. The Sintesi explores the future the name of the Founder, the Battista represents an of the car in terms of architecture, technology and extraordinary marriage between the past and the connectivity. A zero emission vehicle powered by a future of Pininfarina’s automotive commitment. fuel cell drive train with four electric motors on the wheels. Its content won it the Dot Design Award This section is enriched by scale models of the Mythos, in 2008. The Cambiano, on the other hand, sets Modulo, aerodinamica and new standards of eco-sustainability in the high- 750 prototypes.

WWW.PININFARINA.COM MAY 2021/PRESS RELEASE

Apart from the “The Shape of the Future” exhibition, • Alfa Romeo Duetto 1600 Junior 1972 - Morphin - Design the MAUTO has other Pininfarina masterpieces on • 1984 – Open Garage permanent display: • B 20 1958 – Open Garage • coupé 1971 - Open Garage • Zero 1912 – Mechanical ferment • Allanté 1992 - Open Garage • Cisitalia 202 1948 – Italian revolution • presidenziale 1961 – • GT4 2+2 1973 – Good bye Lenin Ground floor (Quirinale collection, Rome) • Ferrari 308 Gtb 1980 – Morphing – Design • Lancia D24 1953 – Formula

ABOUT PININFARINA

Global icon of Italian style, Pininfarina is recognized for real estate to sailing, from industrial machinery to retail. its unparalleled ability to create timeless beauty through Today, Pininfarina works on revolutionary projects its values of elegance, purity, and innovation. in all sectors. It has recently unveiled new models of Founded in 1930, Pininfarina has evolved from an electric cars, trains, yachts and major international artisan concern to an international service Group, architectural projects including the Control Tower of supreme expression of automotive styling and an the new Istanbul Airport and a number of high-impact established reality in industrial design and architecture. residential buildings in Europe and Latin America that A group employing 640 people, offices in Italy, Germany, have also earned it numerous architectural accolades. China and the United States, listed on the Stock These include the American Architecture Award 2020 Exchange since 1986 and included in the basket of for the residential towers Yachthouse by Pininfarina in Italian Listed Brands in which Borsa Italiana has brought and the International Architecture Award for the together the 22 top Italian brands of listed companies. residential tower Sixty6 in Cyprus and for the recently Pininfarina is a company that looks to the future inaugurated Cyrela by Pininfarina residential tower in through its multidisciplinary expertise in services. Sao Paolo, Brazil. The skills it has historically expressed in the automotive Each of Pininfarina’s projects - which span sector - design, engineering, limited series production multidisciplinary collaborations with luxury goods - are only a portion of the range of services that companies such as Ferrari, , Alfa Romeo, the company can offer its customers today. Cross- Princess and Rossinavi to multi-family residential work fertilisation, mainly from Industrial & Experience and architectural projects - is rooted in the goal of Design, Architecture and Nautical, allows Pininfarina humanizing innovation and technology, creating designs to offer a new, broader value proposition in the form that are both aesthetically powerful and boundary- of integrated solutions and turnkey projects in all pushing and unique user experiences merging physical sectors, from automotive to telecommunications, from and digital worlds.

Francesco Fiordelisi HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS, PININFARINA S.p.A. e–mail: [email protected] WWW.PININFARINA.COM tel. 011.9438105 WWW.PININFARINA.COM