Sergio Pininfarina, Italian Car Designer, Dies At 85

Sergio Pininfarina, designer of iconic Ferrari models and many other cars, died last night at his home in Turin. He was 85. The son of Pininfarina company founder Batista Farina, he was serving as honorary chairman of the design firm and was also a senator for life in the Italian parliament at the time of his death. Born in Turin in 1926, he studied mechanical engineering at university and rose to become General Manager of the company bearing his name in 1960. In 1966, he became President on the death of his father and had been honorary chairman since 2006. He oversaw key developments at Pininfarina, such as the building of a new factory at Grugliasco in the fifties, the opening of a computer design centre and wind tunnel in the seventies and another new plant at San Giorgio Canavese in the eighties. Pininfarina was responsible for penning key Ferrari supercars such as the F40 and Enzo, but the firm designed for many manufacturers, creating cars such as the Peugeot 406 Coupe, Bentley Azure and Cadillac Allante. It has long-standing relationships with major Italian brands Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia and Maserati.