Battista Pininfarina Interview 1965 - Prelim sketches of the Dino

http://www.car81.com/Battista_Pininfarina1965.pdf
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Was talking to one of my uncles in Italy and he said he'd found an article on Ferrari & the Dino, which he knew i loved, so he set it aside for me.

Facinating article with a insight into the man who made 'Pininfarina', his life, his thoughts and how proud he was of his son Sergio. And i'm sure he would now be equally proud of his grandson's achievements.

Theres also a prelim sketch of what the Dino was going to look like, i'm much prefer how it finally ended up, not that i dislike this design either.

He died the following year so this may well have been the last interview he ever gave.

Hopefully my translation doesn't have too many mistakes





Pininfarina:- “The Best Works that run around the world”


The appointment was at a restaurant. Infact I found him, lent against a wall, in a ray of sunlight, cast by the roofs of the houses in front.

I introduce myself.

“Ah, its you” he said. As he lent back against the wall enjoying the sunshine.

Almost everyone who entered the restaurant greeted him with good manners, with affection and with no difference. Some even shaking him by the hand exchanging a few words. One of these was even the ‘Perfecto of Torino’.

One lady who was being dragged by the hand by a small child, who quickly became timid to the point of hiding behind the street corner, asked for his autograph. He asked me for a pen, and I happily obliged. She was a beautiful woman. “Thank you kindly, commendatore”, she said as she retrieved the piece of paper with his autograph, “You have made my child very happy”. “Think nothing of it”, he said holding her hand, “However I would have preferred if you had wanted my autograph”.

“I’m Seventy years old!” he said with a mischievous look, in Torinese way, that I cannot report on exactly. Two metres in front of us, on the kerb, was his car. A new Ferrari, latest model, colour green, emerald metallic. The people, in particular the younger generation, stopped for a look, elongating their necks through the car window to see how it was made inside, they grazed with their fingers (but no bones touched), and approved under their voices and went away with a heavy heart.

He asked me, “Isn’t it a beautiful design?” “Yes ‘commendator Farina” I said with sincerity. “I am not called Farina” he corrects me, as he puts his hands in his pockets and moves himself into a warmer part of the sunshine, “My name is Pininfarina”.

“Agreed”, I said, “The whole world knows you as Pininfarina, but on your passport, it has been written Giuseppe Farina”

“Ah! But you don’t know that. It appears that I am happy to tell you this. Until the end of 1961, I shall explain myself, I was effectively called Farina. Then, one day, I was invited to dine at the Agnelli house. The lawyer Agnelli, he of FIAT fame, and included in the invited list was Giovanni Gronchi, who at the time was the president of the Republic. There were about twenty of us, at the end of the dinner, Gronchi wanted to know us all personally, and asked if anyone had anything they wanted to inquire about. When it came to my turn I told him I had a few things I wanted to talk to him about but only if he invited me to Rome, face to face. Then after not even a month, not thinking of it any further, the invite arrives. Having gone to Rome, one of the things I had told him of was my name. I had explained that in Turin there were hundreds of Farina’s and the problems it created as I was known there by the name, Pininfarina, so I asked if he could have my name changed to be identified as Pininfarina. Gronchi told me that I was correct, that in my capacity I had honoured Italy and should be allowed to head a dynasty. Therefore, now, I am called Battista Pininfarina, even on my passport, and my son is called Sergio Pininfarina”.

People continued to enter and leave the restaurant. And continued to acknowledge him. It appeared he had no intention of moving from his ray of sunshine.

He said, and there appeared to be a touch of pride in his voice, “Everyone knows me, just like a film star. Naturally it gives me great pleasure”, pausing for a moment, appearing to follow his train of thought, “Where I am fortunate”, following on, “Unlike other artists, or writers, or scientists much more higher than me, is that my works are not hidden in museums and libraries but they go around the roads of the world, making themselves loved and courted by everyone, bearing my name. Hence why in my life I have been lucky, much luckier than if some of my artistic works did not deserve it”.

I asked, “You are a man of the times, you know what counts, in life, its is not always to create the spectacular or beautiful but what is right for the moment” He looks at me smiling, “Are you hungry, tell the truth”. “Beh” was the reply.

The restaurant was crowded, some on their feet, waiting for a table to become vacated. We didn’t have time to be concerned by this, the ‘Maitre’ bows, begging us to follow, the only free table was the one with the bronze plaque and the national tri-colour marking on the wall and that table had the habit of being used by the dignitary, Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour. Exactly this table was the one ‘Maitre’ directed us too, the other waiters smiling ushered us through, greeting us saying, “Il cummendatur”.

After the Maitre distanced himself with our order, I profited from the peace to ask some more questions and write some ordered notes.

“You have had some opportunities in your life to meet, even face to face, some huge personalities. Which are the ones that left the greatest impacts?”

“Giovanni Gronchi e Benito Mussolini” he replied without hesitation. “Gronchi…” to add further, “Seemed to me to be a good man, deep, his critics accusing him of not always trying hard enough and deliver on the truth.

“Of Mussolini, leaving aside his political views, naturally, I confess he was a very likeable man. I remember one time, a Milanese exhibition he came to visit in an official capacity; two or three coachworks were due to him, to his stands, to settle some favours I was unaware of. My turn arrives and Mussolini asked me, “ You, what do you want to ask me?”. “Nothing” I told him. “Nothing!”. He then spilled some words of eulogy and then, turned to one of his followers, ordered him to take my name and remember this episode in Rome. Effectively some time after I no longer received this honour.

“You are the Vice President of Ferrari: What do you think of Enzo Ferrari?” I asked him.

“Many criticise him for his difficult character and I do not want to support that he is a malleable type. However I am convinced he is a lot more human than he wishes to appear: a proud man, yes, a loner, but a huge heart inside. No one knows, for example, that Ferrari was offered a more favourable deal from a foreign company to manufacture his ‘Dino’ rather than FIAT. This foreign company, much for its intentions, had even gone as far as to offer to put all of Ferrari’s expenses in a condition where they could do battle on an even level with Ford, and then beat them. Ferrari is the type that is courted by the right type of person. As am I, for example. I do not believe Ferrari was ever able to deny me, whatever things I asked.

“Is it true that you know the coachwork design for the “1600 Dino” of Ferrari being built by FIAT?”

“Yes, but it’s a secret”

“Is it true that Henry Ford, in 1920, offered you a job to work for him?”
“Yes, I did not accept. I told him, thank you, but I hope to become someone like Pininfarina”

“When did you design your first car?”

“At the beginning of the century. I was seven or eight years old. A little older I even carved wooden models. It would have been nice to have them now. Unfortunately my mother threw them into the fireplace. My first car was the FIAT model Zerro of 1912.”

“When did you stop designing new cars”

“At 18 years old. After that I only improved and realised what I already had, inside of me, at 18. I remember seeing my first car. It was a coachwork, so so, where they had removed the horses from the front and put an engine in its belly. I started to laugh. Strange but I immediately thought it was wrong, this could not be the clothing for a motor car.”

“When I took up on my own, I unhooked myself from my family. Early, very early on. I was very poor. I was the 10th child of 11. My mother bought me my first box of pencils when I was 6, no 8 years old.”

“What has been the most emotional moment in your lifetime?”

“When they awarded me the “Golden Compass” in Milan. Someone asked me to talk to the Pope Paolo VI, then the Archbishop of Milan, next to me and added, “Is there something you would like to ask me that is more interesting than the ministers”. So I got up and said, simply, That I was very proud for this acknowledgement, but also very sad, I would have liked to have had next to me, in that moment, my mother, because I would have liked her to have seen that compass that she gave to me when I was 12 or 13 years old, and only God knows the sacrifices she made, I would have given it back to her made of gold”

For a while we remain silent. Up to this point the dialogue had been hard hitting and immediate replies. Pininfarina had from time to time been, happy, bubbly, ironic and intentionally controversial. He is a man of success who has loved and loves life. If someone has triumphed they have always walked away with their memories, and his memories are the things he loves most: the old house of Via Canova No. 40 where he was born, the many sounds of his brothers, and his mother.

Changing discussion. “Has there ever been a moment in your life, that you realised something had changed, that you were arriving at an important decision point. In other words, which you thought was your ‘Magic Moment’?”

“When the thought came to incline the windscreen on the motor car. Previously they were all straight, they were right angles to the roof. When for obvious aerodynamic reasons, we inclined the windshield, my first inclined windshield on a motor car was the Lancia, my friend Enrico Minetti, said in a crazy way that windscreens are not inclined but straight. I replied: we shall see. 5 or 6 years later they were no longer anywhere in the world, it could be said, only one motor car had a straight windshield. I remember that even Eisenhower asked me this question.

“When did you know Eisenhower?”

“When he was president of the USA. The protocol had allowed for a 5 or 6 minute visit instead Eisenhower stayed for an extra half hour.”

“The biggest satisfaction of your life?”

“In 1952, when the American Nash household, launched a model designed by me, the ‘Ambassador ‘52’, they upholstered all the walls in the USA with my photograph and they received me in New York like a king or head of state: I’d like to say that with the rain of confetti along the roads I had the feeling of being the protagonist of a opera by Strauss. However…there was another curious satisfaction I had in my life. But perhaps its best left un said.

“I believe you will regret it if you do not recount it”

“True. Therefore you must know I was nominated a member of the Royal Society of Arts in London, whom Queen Elizabeth was the president. I had the honour of entering and being presented to her. When Queen Elizabeth came to Turin in ’61, we were presented to Prof Valletta, president of FIAT, Prof Doliotti, considered, as always, one of the greatest surgeons alive, and I. You know how these occasions are…. Nevertheless it was the case that Valletta & Doliotti were thrown a casual greeting by the Queen, but with me, she called me by my name and proceeded to ask me many questions.

“Do you still occupy your time with the industry?”

“Not even when I’m dreaming”, replying with a smile, “I am closed. About 10 years ago I called my son Sergio the engineer, the engineer Renzo Carli, and I had the following discussion. My friends, we are at a junction. We need to decide whether we remain artists or become manufacturers. That which I needed to do, I have done. It is now up to you. Think well, and then return to me with your decision. They returned, after some days, and they were in agreement with becoming manufacturers. I told them this was not an easy choice, they would need to dig deep and get down to work, they could no longer count on me, and it was their turn to work. I told them that if all was well for them, stay tranquil. So you know what I did? I left. I travelled the world: 122 thousand kilometres in one breathe. I was away for 6 months, true. And I thought: on my return we will have become manufacturers, or otherwise an ex- artist with the weight of failure on our shoulders. How did it turn out, we now know. I am very proud of those two boys. They are indeed together. They do all the work, now they even tell me what to do. And I obey always. I know I am in good hands.

Sergio Pininfarina e Renzo Carli are the projection of the Pininfarina plants. As head of the dynasty they were part of a BBC documentary for airing on English TV. The title of the film, lasting exactly half hour, was “The Car Man” belonging to a series called, “The men who changed the face of Europe”. Sergio Pininfarina e Renzo Carli replied to the interviewer in perfect and clear English. Two Kennedy-esque: simple, polite, efficient. This was the impression left by the film and in short, they had a profitable encounter.

“Do you know the coachwork of the ‘166 Dino’ of Ferrari manufactured by FIAT. I would imagine you will already have some ideas on this latest ‘Dino’. Would you happen to have one of the designs, for publication, naturally?”

Talking amoungst themselves for a while, he made me promise to write things as they had been said exactly. (The design that they would give me was only an idea and could quite easily be modified or substituted with others or relegated by the people who make the final decisions) and there were the final battles before concluding the argument.

I asked the engineer Sergio: “Was it a long ordeal to change your name from Farina to Pininfarina?”

“Don’t talk to me”, he replied laughing, “I believe it would have been easier making a deal with the devil than have my sons name changed to Pinin Farina, and after a lot of insistence I succeeded. As a result, when in ’61 I changed my surname my son had to be called Pinin Pininfarina. In few words I had to go through several shirts in order to change his name. (He is now called Andrea).

After a visit to the works (About 82 cars a day, 18,850 every year and employs 1600 people, compared to 930 cars in 1952) I find myself in the offices of Pininfarina. Before leaving I asked some common questions.

“Whats your hobby?”

“I am a cinematographer; I consume more film than De Laurentiis”

“Whose your favourite actress?”

“Sofia Lauren. I am not in love.”

“The actor you like most?”

“I should say Vittorio Gassman, but I won’t say that because I’d be doing him a favour as I find him an unlikeable as a man, at least judging how he conducted himself with me.”

“What did he do?”

“Let’s leave it alone”

“Whose your favourite TV personality?”

“It should be Mike Bongiorno because I’m friends with his father. However , frankly, I prefer Enzo Tortora.”

“If you gave some advice to the youngsters of today, what would you say?”

“Try and be around the right people (as I have always done) and I would also say: remember to give something extra than that you have already promised. Because life is too short, it’s difficult to have the time over again.”