The Sergio concept, shown at Geneva, is based on the 458
In one of the most bizarre motoring acquisitions of all time, Mahindra is poised to buy out Italian design house Pininfarina. The deal is expected to take place within the next few weeks.
Pininfarina, based in Turin Italy, is arguably one of the most famous design houses having being involved in more than 100 Ferrari designs covering more than sixty years. Some of these creations include the Dino, Daytona, F40, Enzo and Testarossa.
Although Pininfarina is synonymous with Ferraris, the Italian coach builder has plied its craft to Maseratis, Alfas, Lancias, Opels, Fords and Jaguars (to name a few) across a period that dates back to the 1930s.
Yet even these illustrious names have not been enough to keep the design house from operating at a loss for more than a decade as companies chose to carry out designs in-house. Pininfarina has lost roughly 2000 employees in the last decade and the company’s debt reportedly sits around 37 million Euros.
Negotiations between Pininfarina’s creditor banks, the main Pininfarina shareholder Pincar and Mahindra have ended in the deal. This deal will include the selling of Pincar’s shares and reorganising the company debts.
For Mahindra this is a chance to add flair to its designs and the first fruits of the partnership will be evident on the TUV300 compact SUV. From there Mahindra could aim to tap into the luxury car market and expand into new segments. The Italian design house would help smooth that transition.
Company founder Sergio Pininfarina passed away in 2014 and to celebrate his achievements a Sergio concept, a two-seat barchetta based on the Ferrari 458 Spider was born. Pictured in this article, the car was shown at the Geneva Motor Show to a glorious public response. A limited production run is still under consideration.
