Ferrari Pinin: forty years ago there could have been a four-door Ferrari

It stands quite high on its legs for a Ferrari, has a relatively blunt rear and is equipped with a folding rear seat for extra transport options. Just three aspects of the new Purosangue that we are sure have never been on the wish list of Sergio Pininfarina, creator of the very first four-door Ferrari. That was the beautiful Pinin, which he built in 1980 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the body shop that bears the name of his father, Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina.

Pininfarina wanted to convince Enzo Ferrari of a four-door

That anniversary was a good occasion, but Sergio was actually competing with the Pinin for the favors of Enzo Ferrari. He wanted to convince him that a four-door model would give a great sales boost. The sleek design was the work of Leonardo Fioravanti and Diego Ottina, who had put the original lines on paper.

Compete with XJ, Lagonda, thickest S-class and Quattroporte

The Pinin, a non-powered study model with a fully equipped interior, targeted a market segment that Ferrari had never entered before, just as the Purosangue does now. Only then, of course, the intended competitors were not crossovers, but simply the fastest and best four-door sedans in the world. Think of the Jaguar XJ 5.3, Aston-Martin Lagonda, Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL and from our own country the Maserati Quattroporte and the De Tomaso Deauville.

Enzo didn’t dare

But despite the beautiful, slippery exterior and lavish interior, which even included digital instruments and a state-of-the-art on-board computer, Enzo didn’t like a sedan of his brand at all. It was cold feet; Ferrari felt his factory was not experienced enough in building top four-door models and he wanted to avoid disappointing customers who came to trade in their Jaguar or Mercedes.

Pinin remained a study

Thus the Pinin remained a study. Although: at the special request of the wealthy third owner, Ferrari engineer Mauro Forghieri constructed a highly modified Testarossa powertrain for the Pinin in 2010. This is how the former show model came to life in a beautiful and dignified way, with image, sound and the necessary dynamics. Yes, that car should have gone into series production as Ferrari’s first ‘quattroporte’.

Bonhams asked 1 million euros as the minimum price for the Pinin

€1,000,000 was the minimum price for which Bonhams had to hammer the converted Pinin off the owner in 2010, which was unsuccessful. A year later, RM Sotheby’s also failed to raise the intended half million. The car eventually found a private American buyer.