Extending Its Design Reach

Car legend Pininfarina shows its versatility by branching out beyond car designs

With its classic cars for Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lancia and Maserati, Italian car body designer Pininfarina is a quintessential success story of the Italian design industry. But since 1986, the Turin-based company has been active in the field of product design as well.
The company's product design division, Pininfarina Extra, has in recent years designed products such as a coffee maker, mobile phone, kitchen system and even high tech running shoes for Italian sportswear giant Fila. More recently, ski boot manufacturer Lange enlisted Pininfarina's established reputation for innovation to create a new, ahem, cutting edge ski boot. Their collaboration yielded Lange's new World Cup line of boots, which features an aerodynamic polyether shell. The concept behind the new Pininfarina-designed boot was to provide a virtual "second skin" feel for the competitive user.
The car designer also brought its automotive expertise to a new series of office seating by Italian manufacturer Ares Line. Drawing on its experience with car seating, Pininfarina designed the new Xten seating series for Ares Line by putting a premium on ergonomics and user comfort. The Xten line features nylon mesh seating and arm rests and a chair back made of aluminum. Perhaps office chair designs have become a new niche for car stylists; another car design legend, Giorgetto Giugiaro, recently produced a sensuous new chair design that is being marketed in North America by Toronto contract furniture manufacturer Teknion.
The Pininfarina car design firm got its start in 1930 when founder Battista "Pinin" Farina decided to start his own business after apprenticing with an older brother. A trip to America and a job offer from Henry Ford - which Farina turned down - provided more inspiration for the aspiring independent car designer. Farina proved his capacity for innovation almost from the outset by introducing clean-lined aerodynamic styling which came to define the Italian look of car design. His classics included the Lancia Aprilia (1937), the Cisitalia 202 (1947), the Alfa Romeo Guilietta (1956) and the Ferrari 250 GT SWB (1960). Design writer Penny Sparke has called the Cisitalia 202 "an unadorned sculptural form." Its design earned it a spot in a Museum of Modern Art exhibit in New York in 1951.
A 1961 decree by Italian president Giovanni Gronchi changed Farina's surname and company name to Pininfarina, in an official recognition of the legendary contribution of the designer. ("Pinin" means "youngest son" in the Piedmont dialect.) Charles de Gaulle presented Battista Pininfarina with the supreme French public service award, the Legion of Honour, for his life's work in design. Following Pininfarina's passing in 1966, his son Sergio carried on his father's tradition of innovation and commissioned Italy's first wind tunnel to further Pininfarina design research.
Today, a new generation of the Pininfarina family is taking on increasing responsibility for this leading Italian car design company, which continues to grow its business internationally with significant collaborations in China and Japan. Two months ago, Pininfarina announced a joint venture with Volvo to design a new convertible for the Swedish car company.

Publication Date: 2003-11-09
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3327