Has Ferrari’s design improved since they separated from Pininfarina?
The marriage between Pininfarina, the Turin-based design house founded in 1930, and Ferrari generated some of the most breathtakingly successful models in the automotive world.
Photo: Ferrari
Unveiled in 1951, the Ferrari 212 was the first Ferrari that Pininfarina manufactured, and the 2012 F12 Berlinetta, the fastest road-going Ferrari ever made at the time, marked the end of the Pininfarina era.
Pininfarina had some serious financial troubles until Indian automaker Mahindra made its long-predicted purchase of the company. So why didn’t Ferrari buy it in the first place? According to German journalist Frank Kemper, "it seems that Ferrari and Pininfarina are a couple with mutual and exclusive business relations, but that is not true. Pininfarina has also made designs for Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Fiat, Mitsubishi, Cadillac, and Hyundai. Firstly, why has the deal between the two Italian companies come to an end, considering that the cars they produced were successful? On the other hand, Ferrari was not only depending on Pininfarina; they also gave contracts to Scaglietti, Bertone, and Vignale."
Ferrari head of design Flavio Manzoni has told Autocar that a large in-house team is now essential due to the complexity of the design process and the need for multiple designs to be integrated into architectures from the beginning. The days of a car maker supplying a chassis to a coachbuilder for styling are over. In short, Ferrari wanted to create an internal design team that they could lean more heavily on. Six years ago, with the launch of the Ferrari LaFerrari, the Italian automaker set a new course as the first-ever Ferrari designed entirely in-house at Centro Stile Ferrari, its own in-house design studio.
Photo: Ferrari
The 488 GTB received controversial opinions due to its resemblance to the 458 Italia. Ferrari was quick to highlight that the introduction of the twin-turbo V8 is the main talking point, rather than the similar exterior designs.
The GTC4Lusso showed decent signs of improvement compared to its predecessor, the FF. The 812 Superfast followed, being the successor to the F12 Berlinetta, and what a success it was! The 812 was the winner of the 2018 Red Dot Design Award, and it is currently Ferrari’s most sought-after car!
Photo: Ferrari
Ferrari was slowly getting to where it wanted to be under Flavio Manzoni. The stunning aerodynamic design of the Ferrari 488 Pista received the 2019 Red Dot Design Award!
What followed were a series of completely new Ferrari designs. The Portofino was a notable success. Driving such a good-looking Ferrari with the top down in Portofino, the Italian village, has to be one of the most enjoyable experiences ever.
Photo: Ferrari
The F8 Tributo didn’t get a radical new design since it is based on the 488 GTB. The real turning point was 2019, when, in addition to the F8, Ferrari launched the 812 GTS, the SF90 Stradale, the Roma, and delivered the Monza SP1/SP2 to its high-end customers.
Whereas for the SF90 Stradale and Roma, it is safe to say that if you want to get your hands on one of them, it’s going to be a very long wait due to the high demand.
Do we really need to talk about how successful the Monza is? The 812 GTS is the world’s most powerful convertible. V12 and open top? Yes please.
Photo: Ferrari
The design of these latest models surely indicates that Ferrari’s styling center under Flavio Manzoni has improved since they separated from Pininfarina.