The Ferrari Pinin was a one-off concept car created by the Italian design studio Pininfarina to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Discussed by Enzo Ferrari as a possible production model, the proposal was dropped and the car remains a singular concept — the first four-door Ferrari ever built.
Ferrari Pinin at a glance
| Built | 1980, one example |
|---|---|
| Builder | Pininfarina |
| Occasion | Pininfarina’s 50th anniversary |
| Type | four-door saloon concept |
| Design lead | Leonardo Fioravanti |
| Detailed design | Diego Ottina |
| Engine | front-mounted Ferrari flat-twelve |
| Status | concept only, never produced |
| First | the first four-door Ferrari |
based on one source (English Wikipedia); no free photographs of this concept were found, so the previous cover is kept.
History of the Ferrari Pinin
Battista “Pinin” Farina founded his design house in 1930 and, after the Second World War, began working with Enzo Ferrari on the bodies of his road cars, helping Ferrari raise the funds to keep racing. Fifty years later the studio marked the anniversary with a car of its own devising.
Why a four-door Ferrari
The drive for the project came from Sergio Pininfarina, who had dreamed of designing an Italian competitor for luxury four-door saloons such as the Jaguar XJ, the Maserati Quattroporte designed by rival Giugiaro, and the Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9. The project was personally approved by Enzo Ferrari and by Ferrari’s general manager at the time, Eugenio Alzati. According to Alzati, because Ferrari was a subsidiary of Fiat at the time, Mr Ferrari was obliged to use a Fiat 131 as his personal chauffeured transport; he found the 131 inadequate and therefore looked positively on a possible production Ferrari luxury saloon.
Design
Leonardo Fioravanti led the design team, having been responsible for most Pininfarina Ferrari designs since the 1960s, with detailed work completed by Diego Ottina. Fioravanti proposed a sporting saloon powered by a forward-located Ferrari flat-twelve engine, giving the car a long bonnet and a cabin set well back in the manner of a classic grand tourer rather than a conventional luxury four-door.
The outcome
Despite the approval of Enzo Ferrari and the interest of the management, the production plan was dropped. The Pinin stayed a single show car, and Ferrari has never series-produced a four-door saloon; the car remains notable as the first four-door Ferrari ever built and as a glimpse of a road Maranello did not take.
Design and features
- One-off concept: a single car built by Pininfarina for its own anniversary.
- First four-door Ferrari: a saloon body, unique in the marque’s history.
- Fioravanti design: a sporting saloon proposal rather than a conventional limousine.
- Flat-twelve engine: mounted at the front, driving through a long bonnet.
- Never produced: approved by Enzo Ferrari, then quietly dropped.
Ferrari Pinin versions
- Ferrari Pinin (1980): the only example, a Pininfarina concept.
The Pinin was a contemporary of the Ferrari Mondial and the Ferrari 308, and it looked forward to the four-seat grand tourers of the 1990s such as the Ferrari 456.
Sources
- Ferrari Pinin, English Wikipedia: background, design team, engine layout, outcome
