Sergio Pininfarina

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Sergio Pininfarina died overnight in his Turin home at the age of 85. The company that bears its name designed almost every Ferrari since the 1950s and delivered the shapes of cars from the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Rondine to the 1996 Peugeot 406 Coupe. Sajeev will have a tribute to the man later on.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 9 comments
  • CRacK hEaD aLLeY CRacK hEaD aLLeY on Jul 03, 2012

    His job with the F-40 set the tone for me. Giugiaro is still alive if I'm not completely mistaken, so I thing the Post-war Italian playboy-auto businessman stereotype is still valid?

  • Robert Gordon Robert Gordon on Jul 04, 2012

    "The company that bears its(sic) name designed almost every Ferrari since the 1950s" A pedant would graciously correct you and point out that Sergio is actually named after the company not the company after him. Pininfarina the company is actually named after his father Battista's nick name.

  • Kevin Kluttz Kevin Kluttz on Jul 04, 2012

    Did he not also have a strong hand in the design of the 1984-1987 Toyota Corolla RWD Coupes? Looks like his stuff, and I once read that. I think it was in Car and Driver, but it could still be true.

  • Niky Niky on Jul 04, 2012

    The company still bears his name, whether it is named after him or not... his name was officially changed to Pininfarina along with his father's. - Pininfarina is responsible for such iconic designs as the Hyundai Matrix, the Hafei Lobo and the Daewoo Tacuma. Well... can't claim that Pinin ever shied away from pushing the envelope of design. - I think, whatever the portfolio of Pininfarina reads like, Sergio's instrumental role in developing the Dino and the F40 are a clear testament to the man's abilities. R.I.P.

Next