1980 Ferrari Pinin Concept Sports Saloon

At the 1980 Turin Auto Show, the Ferrari Pinin Concept made its introduction. The car was created and named in honor of the famous carrozzeria's founder, Battista 'Pinin' Farina. Since the 1960s, Pininfarina had been Ferrari's favored coachbuilder. The relationship between Ferrari and Pininfarina resulted in some of the world's most beautiful motor cars.

The 'Pinin' Ferrari concept had an unusual layout for the legendary marque, with four-doors and a front-mounted 5.0-liter 12-cylinder 'boxer' engine. This was not, however, the first Ferrari in this configuration. At the 1974 Turin Show, Ferrari displayed a four-seater, two-door coupe.

The Pinin's body was styled by Diego Ottina under the direction of Pininfarina's design chief, Leonardo Fioravanti. The horizontally opposed 'boxer' engine allowed for a slender nose, for which Lucas developed special, slimline, multi-parabolic headlights. In the back it had Carello's body coloured light units that only became visible when illuminated, a feature that was rather advanced for its day. The smoked glass side windows hid the 'A' and 'B' pillars. Inside was a revolutionary form of dashboard instrumentation that only became visible when the ignition was switched on. The rear seat passengers had their own control unit and a second radio for use with earphones.

The Pinin was featured on the cover of 'Quattroruote' magazine in May 1980. It remained a static 'show' car, with empty boxer engine. It was displayed at the 1980 Los Angeles Auto Show and Carrozzeria Italiana in Pasadena in 1981. After that, it quietly disappeared from public view.

The car was later sold via Adolfo Orsi to Jacques Swaters, proprietor of Garage Francorchamps, Belgium's Ferrari importer. It was displayed at the Essen Motor Show in 2005 as part of Pininfarina's 75th anniversary celebrations.

In 2008, Swaters sold his Pinin Concept at the Maranello auction. It was acquired by its current caretaker.

The new owner wanted a running car, and commissioned former Ferrari Technical Director Mauro Forghieri's Oral Engineering to carry out the necessary work. The car was basically a stretched 400GT aft of the front bulkhead, including the rear suspension and differential, while the engine bay was adapted from the mid-engined 512BB's rear subframe. The front suspension was comprised of short wishbones with the springs welded in place.

Oral Engineering sourced a complete 512BB engine, which had to be moved forwards in the engine bay for proper installation. A 400GT gearbox was also sourced. Other work included strengthening the chassis, fabricating a fuel tank, manufacturing a wiring loom, fabricating a radiator, and installing fully functioning suspension and brakes.

The car's original Veglia instrumentation has long since been removed and conventional units have been fitted in its place. The fixed side windows and lack of a ventilation system make it unsuitable for use in extreme conditions. Despite these shortcomings, the car is reported to be a fully drivable motor car.

In 2012, the car was offered for sale at Bonhams Auction in Monaco. It had an estimated value of $620,000 - 740,000. Bidding failed to satisfy the vehicle's reserve and it would leave the auction unsold.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2013