Battista Pininfarina Explained

Battista Pininfarina
Birth Name:Battista Farina
Birth Date:2 November 1893
Birth Place:Cortanze, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy
Death Place:Lausanne, Switzerland
Signature:Pininfarina-Battista-4-1200x800.jpg
Occupation:Automobile designer
Relatives:Giovanni Carlo Farina (brother)
Awards:Compasso d'Oro
Order of Merit for Labour
Royal Designer for Industry (honorary)

Battista Pininfarina (born Battista Farina, nicknamed "Pinin"; 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, Italy. The tenth of eleven children, his nickname, "Pinin" (the youngest/smallest (brother), in Piedmontese), referred to his being the baby of the family, and in later years it also referred to his short stature of 5abbr=offNaNabbr=off. 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 the 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, 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. Sometime in the early 1950s, Stabilimenti Farina was absorbed into the by now much larger Carrozzeria Pinin Farina.

The last design he contributed to was the 1600 Duetto for Alfa Romeo[1] with Aldo Brovarone, 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, acting on a proposal made by the Minister of Justice.

His nephew, Nino Farina, was the first Formula One world champion.

Honours and namesakes

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Mitchell. Paul. Marking a Half Century of the Alfa Romeo Duetto. Sports Car Market. November 2016. 28. 11. 70.
  2. Web site: Compasso d'oro alla carriera (1957) . 2024-07-28 . . it-IT.
  3. Web site: Battista “Pinin” Farina . 2023-08-28 . Automotive Hall of Fame.
  4. Web site: 11 December 2018 . “Battista” Announced as Name of the Most Powerful Italian Performance Car Ever . 2023-08-28 . Automobili Pininfarina.