The world usually sees cars like the Pininfarina Sergio at a few select
international auto shows during the debut year. Then the
outlandishly-styled cars retire to their designers' headquarters and
museums, peeping out every so often for special events and shows.
Sometimes they fetch millions at auctions. But the wildly impractical,
often beautiful design exercises don't usually enter production. It's
looking like the Sergio will be an exception to the rules.
Pininfarina designed the Sergio in honor of the late Sergio
Pininfarina, the former head of the Italian design firm who passed away
last summer. The luscious two-seat barchetta looked like the epitome of
one-off Geneva concept cars, but Pininfarina built the car atop Ferrari
458 Spider mechanicals and said from the start it could easily be
developed for exclusive limited run production.
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| Pininfarina Sergio concept |
According to several new media reports, Pininfarina wasn't just
toying with rich folks lusting after the Sergio concept. Last week,Car & Driver
reported that the Italian design house is listening intently to such
folks, and they're hearing an overwhelming message: Build it and we will
buy!
As the Sergio cruised on from the hustle and bustle of March's Geneva
Motor Show to more relaxed gatherings of aficionados at last month's
Concorso d'Eleganza Ville d'Este and a Pininfarina celebration in
London, whispers and inquiries about production gained momentum,
inspiring Pininfarina to look seriously at the possibility. Purchases
would be limited to very wealthy folks closely connected to Pininfarina,
because it is reportedly thinking of building just five models for
around US$2 million a pop.
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| Radical Pininfarina Sergio concept moving toward production |
New 3-D modeling software that allowed Pininfarina to develop the
Sergio concept in less than five months would make it financially viable
for it to build a handful of models and sell them at a premium. That,
plus the fact that the car was built upon existing 458 underpinnings,
could push the argument for limited production over the edge.
Autocar added some juice to the rumor this week, quoting
Pininfarina chief designer Fabio Filippini as stating that the Sergio
could be homologated for sale in the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
Pininfarina would have to raise the nose by 12 mm to comply with
pedestrian protection laws but would keep the production version mostly
true to concept form, including its lack of a windshield.
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| Radical Pininfarina Sergio concept moving toward production |
Instead of simply creating an homage to Sergio Pininfarina's past
work in creating the Sergio, Pininfarina chose to use the spirit of his
design in a more futuristic interpretation. The car's inspiration is
rooted in Pininfarina-designed Ferraris of the 1960s and 70s, and it was
displayed next to the 1965 Dino Berlinetta Speciale concept car in
Geneva. That inspiration is clear in its arched fender and
forward-projecting rear. Pulling the car into the 21st century is an
array of visually playful aerodynamic treatments like the front spoiler,
hood deflector and side inlets, all wrapped together by a black insert.
Pininfarina housed all of the functional components of the Sergio's
exterior, including the aerodynamic pieces and door handles, in the
black scarf, leaving the flowing, red body uninterrupted by utility.
Look at the front of the Sergio quickly, and you might mistake it for
the rear. The roadster lacks a front windshield but has a rear
windshield and roll bar that envelops the two seats. If it does become
available for purchase, the Sergio will come with driver and passenger
helmets to serve as protection in the absence of the windscreen. The
large hood deflector also helps to divert some of the air flow. The
Sergio is certainly not the most practical driving design, but with only
five potential models selling for seven figures, it probably won't be
seeing a whole lot of road time.
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| Radical Pininfarina Sergio concept moving toward production |
"My father would be proud of this concept car because it expresses
the aesthetic values that always inspired him: the purity of the lines,
the harmony of form, and balance," Paolo Pininfarina, Pininfarina Group
Chairman, said during the car's Geneva debut. "Furthermore, he would be
happy with this latest concept on Ferrari base, a brand to which we are
related by a history that has helped define the most beautiful cars of
all time in an evolution that has lasted 60 years and shows no sign of
ending."
While you wait to find out whether the Sergio will make it to
production, you can watch it move from rendering to reality in the video
below.
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