Battista "Pinin" Farina (later Battista Pininfarina; 2 November 1893 – 3 April 1966) was an Italian automobile designer and the founder of the Carrozzeria Pininfarina coachbuilding company, a name associated with many well known postwar cars.

Early life

Battista Farina was born in

Cortanze Cortanze is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Asti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 266 and an area of .All demographics and oth ...

, Italy. The tenth of eleven children, his nickname, "Pinin" (the youngest/smallest (brother), in

Piedmontese Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regard ...

), referred to his being the baby of the family, and in later years it also referred to his short stature of 5 feet (1.52 meters). He started working in his brother Giovanni's body shop at the age of 12, and it was there that his interest in cars was born. He stayed at Giovanni's Stabilimenti Farina for decades, learning bodywork and beginning to design his own cars.

Carrozzeria Pininfarina and career

He formed Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 to focus on design and construction of new car bodies, and quickly gained prominence. Only Carrozzeria Touring was more sought-after in the 1930s. His work for

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

, starting in 1952, would become his most famous though much of it was managed by his son, Sergio, who ran the firm until shortly before his death, on 3 July 2012. Some time in the early 1950s, Stabilimenti Farina was absorbed into the by now much larger Carrozzeria Pinin Farina. 1967-Alfa-Romeo-Duetto-Red-Front-Angle-st

1967-Alfa-Romeo-Duetto-Red-Front-Angle-st

The last design he contributed to was the 1600 Duetto for

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

with

Aldo Brovarone Aldo Brovarone (24 June 1926 – 12 October 2020) was an Italian automobile designer and the chief stylist with Carrozzeria Pininfarina (1974-1988) – widely known for a prominent range of work including the Dino 206 GT, Lancia Gamma Coup ...

, which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966. He died less than a month later, on 3 April.

Personal life and family

He officially changed his name to "Battista Pininfarina" in 1961. The change was authorized by the President of the

Italian Republic Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, acting on a proposal made by the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

. His nephew,

Nino Farina Emilio Giuseppe Farina, also known as Giuseppe Antonio "Nino" Farina, (; 30 October 1906 – 30 June 1966) was an Italian racing driver and first official Formula One World Champion. He gained the title in 1950. He was the Italian Champion in ...

, was the first

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

world champion.

Honours and namesakes

* He was inducted into the

Automotive Hall of Fame The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum. It was founded in 1939 and has over 800 worldwide honorees. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area. the Automotive Hall of Fame includes persons who have contributed greatly to au ...

in 2004. * The

Pininfarina Battista The Pininfarina Battista is an electric sports car manufactured by Automobili Pininfarina GmbH which is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with roots in the Italian car design firm and coachbuilder Pininfarina. The name Battista is a tribute to ...

all-electric battery-powered sports car is named in his honour.

References

External links