Automobili Pininfarina to Invest Over €20M in 'PURA' Design Cooperation for Luxury and Performance Electric Vehicle Range

MUNICH and TURIN, Italy, Nov. 27, 2018 /CNW/ --

• Automobili Pininfarina invests in excess of €20m in Pininfarina SpA design services to support plans for a range of beautiful and innovative luxury electric cars
• Automobili Pininfarina reveals PF0's 'PURA' design philosophy, which will inspire the styling of its future range of high-performance EVs
• Automobili Pininfarina's management team strengthened further with appointment of Jari Kohonen as Chief Sales Officer to lead worldwide business development
• PF0 client and retailer previews begin in Europe
• New PF0 images and film available here

Automobili Pininfarina today reveals new images of the PF0 hypercar prototype as it confirms an investment of more than €20 million in a new cooperation with Pininfarina SpA. The investment will underpin the design, development and production of the PF0 luxury electric hypercar and the future range of Automobili Pininfarina cars. 

Michael Perschke, CEO, Automobili Pininfarina, said: "It is a pleasure and a privilege to partner with the world's greatest car design house, Pininfarina SpA. This agreement brings us together and marks the beginning of two exciting chapters in our very different histories.

"For Automobili Pininfarina, it will form the cornerstone of our ambition to become the world's most admired luxury electric vehicle company. For Pininfarina SpA, it delivers Battista's dream of seeing a range of beautiful and highly desirable Pininfarina-branded cars on the roads."

Silvio Pietro Angori, CEO, Pininfarina SpA, said: "We are very pleased to add Automobili Pininfarina to the list of the many prestigious car makers for which Pininfarina SpA will be designing cars in the future. This agreement will also allow us to show our expertise in engineering and manufacturing of limited-series cars. Starting with the stunning PF0, we will develop a range of cars for Automobili Pininfarina that I believe will stand side-by-side with classic Pininfarina cars in their beauty, purity and innovative technologies."

To commemorate the strategic alignment that brings the new luxury car brand together with the famed Italian design house, two images of the PF0 prototype have been released. Together they hint at Automobili Pininfarina's 'PURA' design philosophy for both its cars and brand, and represent Pininfarina's famed focus on a balance between design and engineering. With its elegance, simplicity and purity of design, underpinned by extreme technical innovation, PF0 clearly shows how Pininfarina SpA will combine its design, engineering heritage and philosophy into the first-ever solely Pininfarina-branded cars. 

Automobili Pininfarina 'PURA' design philosophy presented alongside new PF0 prototype

As with all Pininfarina-designed cars, the end product is more than just a styling exercise. The Italian coachbuilder, known for designing many of the world's most iconic cars, has always viewed automotive exterior and interior design, the driving experience, the passenger experience, and engineering innovation as equal partners. This design purity, where form and function are inseparable, defines what Automobili Pininfarina is terming its 'PURA' design vision for its own range of cars and all brand touchpoints.

Luca Borgogno, Design Director, Automobili Pininfarina, said: "Our design brief to Pininfarina SpA is simple: to take their renowned design and engineering skill, which has produced many of the world's most elegant and desirable cars, and combine it with our desire to develop and deliver the world's most beautiful range of luxury cars. There is a purity in our ambition, the styling of our cars and our engineering focus on emissions-free sustainable performance. We have termed this 'PURA', and it will define everything we do in the coming years."

Starting with PF0 in 2020, 'PURA' will ensure that Automobili Pininfarina cars match purity in design with energising performance derived from optimised aerodynamics, ground-breaking engineering solutions, and the extreme - yet manageable - power that electrification offers.

Carlo Bonzanigo, Design Vice President, Pininfarina Group, said: "Pininfarina-designed cars throughout history have always combined creativity and technical rationality in a unique way. This search for the right equilibrium between emotion and reason, together with our constant quest for beauty and elegance, and the will to eschew useless formalism and excessive adornments, has led to some of the most beautiful cars in automotive history. This is the Pininfarina way to conceive cars; and we aim to deliver these standards to all future Pininfarina cars starting from the beautiful PF0 hypercar."

PF0 hypercar presented privately for first time in Europe

As work continues in Cambiano on Automobili Pininfarina's future range of cars, the Munich-based company has started presenting the PF0 prototype in Europe. The first potential European clients and the first luxury car retailers aiming to represent the brand in the region have met at a series of VIP events hosted by legendary racing driver and new Automobili Pininfarina Development Driver Nick Heidfeld. Early feedback indicates strong demand for PF0 and significant interest in plans for future cars that will all be luxury, fully-electric and low-volume within their sectors.

Automobili Pininfarina appoints Jari Kohonen as Chief Sales Officer

Experienced automotive executive Jari Kohonen joins Automobili Pininfarina as Chief Sales Officer with responsibility for global business development and an initial focus on developing the new retail network and customer and prospect engagement strategy. Kohonen will take specific responsibility for all sales, aftersales and network development operations. As a European with significant global experience, he joins at the perfect time as Automobili Pininfarina begins to target Europe, the Middle East and Asia following the successful PF0 debut in North America over the summer.

Michael Perschke, CEO, Automobili Pininfarina, said: "In North America the response to PF0 has been overwhelming, with nearly three-quarters of the allocation for that market now reserved by clients.

"Jari will drive business development across the globe and he brings a wealth of experience across multiple sales regions with brands that are leading the way in connectivity, industry partnerships and unique customer offerings. I welcome him to the management team."

Jari Kohonen, Chief Sales Officer, Automobili Pininfarina, said: "Automobili Pininfarina is the perfect mix of past, present and future, and it is an amazing privilege to be part of the launch of a new brand with such a rich history. Initial demand is very strong for PF0, and our focus now is on presenting this spectacular hypercar to prospective clients in Europe. Our team will also ensure we have everything in place to leverage the success that the car will almost certainly deliver in order to build a lasting, sustainable, profitable and highly desirable electric car brand."

For more information and for the media kit, please visit:
www.automobili-pininfarina.com/media-zone

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