Format: 26’28’’ & 24’03’’Type: documentaryDirector: F.
ParadisoProduction: Armada,Arès-Films
TV/Video/VOD
Synopsis:
Part 1In the1900s the Farina family arrived from Asti and
settled Turin to surf on the wave of the economic boom instilled by
Agnelli’s Fiat.Battista Farina known as «Pinin» was 12 years old
when his brother founded is coach building business and did not
hesitate to lend a hand. From there, his passion for curves,
aerodynamics, in short, automo-biles was born. At 17 he proposed to
Fiat a coach building project and wan the competition despite the
fact he had to compete with well-established designers.After World
War I, Pinin, understood from his craftsman’s workshop that the
future was in mass market. He invested in modern equipment and
increased production without impacting quality. He founded his own
company but could not imagine working exclusively for the giant
Fiat. In 1930 he created his first automobile, the SA carrozeria
Pininfarina. His first customer was called Vicenzo Lancia and their
collabo-ration turned out to be most fertile.His workshop was
destroyed during World War II, and he left to set up business near
Asti. A designing genius,Farina was an innovator; he tilted
windshields and radiator grilles to get better aerodynamics and
positioned the radiator horizontally which brought him immense
success.The fruits of his joining forces with Enzo Ferrari gave
birth to the famous 212 Inter and 375 America Cou-pés. It designed
the 403 for Peugeot, but continued making small series racing
production such as the Ferrari 250 and the GTO. The patriarch
passed on the business to his sons in 1958, during the unveiling of
his new plant near Turin. Purists could rest assured; The «Pinin»
spirit was intact.
Part 2In the sixties Pinin Farina was acknowledged as an
exceptional designer and honoured at the highest level. In 1966
Farina inaugurated their new research centre, but Battista known as
«Pinin» died shortly after. The man was at the summit of his art
when he passed on his firm to his sons.Sergio described his father,
as being passionate, but also a highly demanding man, who did not
accept the slightest lack of harmony in his models. Sergio and his
brother managed to conserve the Pininfarina spirit. Battista Farina
was also a visionary; he wanted to offer the general public
aesthetic cars for an af-fordable price. He developed the Ferrari
365GT, the Peugeot 204 and especially the mythical Alfa Romeo
Duetto made famous by the film “The Graduate”.In the seventies, the
sons Farina create a new centre of computation and CAD, as well as
the most modern blower in the world destiny to test the
aerodynamics of the future models. It is the epoch of the Coupé
Fiat 130, of the Lancia 2000 or of the Ferrari Daytona. More than
beauty, Farina prefers speaking about the personality of a car.The
nineties saw the birth of the Peugeot 406, which didn’t stop the
firm from continuing to make smaller production series as in the
past. The working drawings are recycled to develop more mass
production vehicles, as is the research from prototype development.
Sergio Farina felt that the future lay allying aesthetics and mass
production. The general public wants beautiful objects which will
link art industry for many a year.Rich in archive pictures, this
documentary retraces the life of the creative genius of Battista
«Pinin» Farina. Professional automobile enthusiasts of the car
remain in awe of his aesthetic.
