Pininfarina: The Design Group Behind Your Favorite Italian Cars

Crème de la Crème

Honorary Mentions

Blue and silver Rolls Royce Silver Dawn car parked on a brick driveway with grass surrounding it

Silver Dawn Rolls Royce
Source: Rolls Royce Group

The Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, Ferrari 512S Modulo, and Honda Beat highlight Pininfarina’s diverse design prowess. The Silver Dawn, with its stately presence, embodies luxury and refinement with a smooth 4.5-liter inline-six engine. The Ferrari 512S Modulo, designed by Franco Sbarro, showcases an avant-garde, wedge-shaped silhouette powered by a potent 5.0-liter V12 engine. The Honda Beat, a compact roadster from the early ’90s, combines playful design with practicality, featuring a spirited 656cc engine. Together, these vehicles illustrate Pininfarina’s versatility and commitment to creating timeless designs across different automotive segments.

White Ferrari 512S Modulo driving fast on a road passing trees — Ferrari 512S Modulo
Source: Ferrari

Red Honda Beat with a man behind the wheel with a yellow license plate, driving on the road — Honda Beat
Source: Old Motors

#1 1959 Ferrari 250 GT

Red Ferrari 250 GT parked at an angle in an all white room

Predecessor to the Greatest Ferrari of All Time?
Source: Bonhams

As a pinnacle of automotive design, the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT, crafted by Sergio Pininfarina and his team, exemplifies exquisite craftsmanship that has left a lasting legacy in the automotive world. Now it’s not the famed Ferrari 250 GTO which was the successor to the 250 GT, but all the more reason that the greatest Pininfarina car is the one that produced the “Greatest Ferrari of All Time”. Produced from 1953 to 1964, its elegant design features a long hood, flowing lines, and a graceful silhouette, perfectly capturing the essence of Italian automotive artistry. Powered by a robust 3.0-liter V12 engine delivering between 240 and 280 horsepower, the 250 GT offered exhilarating performance paired with luxurious comfort. Inside, the spacious cabin, adorned with high-quality materials, further reflects Ferrari’s commitment to harmonizing performance with opulence.

Pininfarina’s influence extended well beyond Ferrari, collaborating with a diverse array of automotive giants including Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Rolls-Royce, and Honda, as well as non-Italian brands like Cadillac, in which their designs and bespoke way of thinking solidified their position as a leader in automotive design across various segments and eras. Will we ever see a luxury manufacturer like Pininafairna take a commanding foothold on the automotive scene again?