The automotive world is mourning the loss of another great person in car making history. The honorary chairman of The Pininfarina Group, Sergio Pininfarina passed away just a couple of days ago at the age of 85. In 1966 Sergio Pininfarina took over as chairman of this famous design company after his predecessor and father, Gian Battista “Pinin” Farina passed on. Until 2006 Sergio was at the helm and then become honorary chairman upon his retirement.
The world’s most famous cars came to life under Sergio’s leadership of the top design firm. These cars included the Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet models, Bentley and Volvo versions. The two vehicles Pininfarina Group is most famous for though is the Ferrari and Maserati. No one turns their back when they see the gorgeously simple, brilliant designs of the 2002 Ferrari Enzo and 1984 Ferrari Testarossa that proudly sport Sergio’s design work, amongst others such as the 1996 Peugeot 406 Coupe and the 2003 Maserati Quattroporte.
His sons, Lorenza and Paolo, and his wife Giorgia were close by his side when he passed away at his home in Turin.
The official statement of his passing includes highlights of some of his better known achievements:
“Sergio Pininfarina received numerous honours. The main are: he was appointed “Cavaliere del Lavoro” by the President of the Italian Republic (1976); Légion d’Honneur (Chevalier, 1979, and Officier, 1997), “Honorary Royal Designer for Industry” (1983), Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (1988), Designer Lifetime Achievement Award (1991), Super Trophée de l’”Automobile Magazine” (1992), “Guglielmo Tagliacarne” award (1994) , the “Italy in the World” award (1994), the Career Award Compasso d’Oro (1995), the “France-Italie” Award (1997), “Lion d’Oro” (1998), “Trophée du design” (1998), Premio Leonardo (1999), “Head of the Century in the International Automotive Hall of Fame” (2001), the award “Torino libera” (2001), Business and Culture Award (2003), Palme d’Or du Festival Automobile International (2005), Automotive Hall of Fame of Dearborn, Michigan (2007); European Automotive Hall of Fame of Geneva (2008).”
Source: Pininfarina