1960 Pininfarina Model X

Sold for $330,000 at 2015 Barrett-Jackson - Scottsdale.
The aircraft industry inspired many unique designs during the 1930s through the 1960s. Some of those designs incorporated certain design elements, such as fins, while other designs went to another extreme, such as the Pininfarina Model X. The 1960 sedan was titled as 'X', but is sometimes referred to as PFX. It has a radical design that is very aerodynamic for its era and had a low drag coefficient. The project was personally spearheaded by Batista 'Pinin' Farina and was a scientific research program by the factory. Its untraditional rhomboid layout for the four wheels gave the car higher maximums speeds and lower fuel consumption. The back and the front had single wheels. The middle of the vehicle had two wheels. The front wheel was responsible for steering, while the two side wheels serve as outriggers to stabilize the car. The single rear wheel provided the power. The engine was a Fiat-sourced 1089cc four-cylinder unit that was installed in the back of the car.

The aerodynamic bodywork has a drag coefficient of just 0.23. Pininfarina produced just one example of this car. The car was owned and housed by Pininfarina for 4 decades until it was acquired in 2007 by the current owner from Pininfarina himself.

The car was exhibited at the 1960 Turin Motor Show and the 1961 Brussels Automobile Show, after which it returned to the factory. Batista 'Pinin' was said to have personally driven the car around to various automakers to discuss the potential to put it into mass-production.

By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2015