Guide: Ferrari Pininfarina Pinin
Background
To celebrate Pininfarina's 50th anniversary, a special Ferrari concept car was created for the 1980 Turin Motor Show.
Named in honour of Pininfarina’s founding father, Battista 'Pinin' Farina, the low slung Pinin saloon remains the only officially sanctioned four-door Ferrari.
In the mid 1990s, a small number of four-door conversions were carried out by Pininfarina on the 456, but these were executed at the request of a special customer (the Sultan of Brunei) and there was no factory involvement.
The Pinin was pitched as a potential rival for the Maserati Quattroporte and Aston Martin Lagonda. Had it gone into production, a four door Ferrari would almost certainly have attracted customers from Rolls Royce, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz as well.
However, although the feasibility of producing a car like the Pinin was seriously considered, Enzo Ferrari eventually killed the programme citing development costs as his primary reason.
Nevertheless, the Pinin gave a tantalising glimpse of what the world’s fastest four-door saloon may have looked like in the early 1980s.
Chassis
Constructed on a customised 400 GT chassis (number 1.01.200) the Pinin’s wheelbase was extended by 50mm to free up additional rear cockpit space. The chassis was further modified to accept a longitudinally-mounted carb-fed Flat 12 engine from the 512 BB (unlike the standard 400 which used a conventional V12).
The decision to install a BB motor was because its Flat 12 power unit enabled the designers to adopt a much lower hood profile. As the Pinin was a non-running show car, the engine and gearbox originally lacked internals.
Suspension was imported directly from the 400; it was independent all round with unequal length wishbones, coil springs and telescopic Koni shocks. Anti-roll bars were fitted at either end.
The Pinin also came with power steering, a self-levelling rear axle and four wheel ventilated disc brakes.
Brand new Michelin-shod alloy wheels were given a turbine design to extract hot air away from the brakes. They were later copied for the 1989 Mythos concept and the 1994 F512 M.
Engine / Gearbox
Although commonly described as a Flat or Boxer motor, Ferrari’s BB engine was actually more akin to a 180° Vee.
The Tipo F102 B 000 unit adopted by the Pinin produced 340bhp at 6800rpm which compared favourably to the 280bhp Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2 and the 276bhp Maserati Quattroporte Series 3 (both of which used V8s).
Ferrari’s dry-sumped all-alloy dual overhead camshaft engine was extremely refined for such a high performance motor.
It displaced 4942cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 82mm and 78mm respectively. The compression ratio was 9.2:1 and four Weber 40 IF3 C downdraught carburettors were originally installed.
Peak torque was 333lb-ft at 4600rpm.
Whereas the 512 BB had its gearbox mounted in unit with the engine (below the crankshaft), the Pinin adopted a more traditional transaxle layout, as per the 400.
Bodywork
Compared to other Italian coachbuilders, Pininfarina had a reputation for conservative design; style and elegance were routinely favoured over the latest fashions.
The Pinin was the kind of discrete high end saloon favoured by captains of industry, especially in Italy. Its low profile nose housed a large aluminium grille either side of which were slim Lucas headlights with a multi-parabolic reflective surface.
Underneath the headlights were combined auxiliary / indicator clusters that were later copied for the Ferrari Testarossa, Mondial 3.2 and 328.
The Pinin’s smoked windows lay flush with the colour matched A and B pillars. This gave the effect of a single piece of glass wrapping all the way around to the body-coloured C pillars. At the prototype stage, the windows were fixed in place and could not be raised or lowered.
To improve aerodynamics, the windscreen wipers were mounted below an electric panel when not in use.
The simple notchback tail fascia incorporated an impact absorbing bumper and clear tail light clusters that went on to become a staple of automotive design.
Interior
Tan leather with matching carpet was used to upholster the completely new interior.
A state-of-the-art instrument binnacle featured push-button controls either side of a recessed digital fascia that lit up when the ignition was switched on.
The rather un-Ferrari-like three-spoke steering wheel was trimmed in tan leather to match the rest of the interior.
Pininfarina installed a central console that sloped down towards the occupants. It housed a variety of touch-sensitive switches and a black insert was applied to match the instrument binnacle.
Front and rear overhead consoles included switches for the electric memory seats and interior lighting.
Thanks to the extended wheelbase and slim front seats, there was plenty of legroom for all passengers.
The individual rear seats were split by a wide armrest upon which was another inverted binnacle similar to the main dashboard. This one featured a grab handle either side of a digital display that housed controls for the windows and audio system.
Another luxurious touch was an electric blind for the rear windscreen.
Subsequent History
At the Turin Motor Show (April 1980), the Pinin was displayed alongside some of Pininfarina's most celebrated creations.
It then went on to star at the Los Angeles and Detroit Motor Shows in 1981 and was seriously considered for production. However, in 1983, Enzo Ferrari decided once and for all his firm couldn't afford to invest in a new model line and, since then, the idea of a four-door Ferrari has not been revived.
During the mid 1980s, the Pinin was sold to Ferrari’s Belgian distributor, Jacques Swaters of Garage Francorchamps.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ferrari - https://www.ferrari.com & RM Sotheby’s - https://rmsothebys.com/
