Hands up, we admit it. We didn't really pay enough attention to the Pininfarina Sergio concept at
the Geneva show
earlier in the month. There were a couple of other cars
making some noise
, in mitigation. Geneva is always fertile ground for fascinating design studies from Europe's styling houses though, Touring's
Alfa Romeo 8C-based Disco Volante
redux grabbing headlines before the show.
Lights inspired by the 1965 Dino concept
While also based on an exotic modern donor car Pininfarina's Sergio concept was no retro recreation, preferring to underline the long-standing history with Ferrari by sitting beside the 1965 Pininfarina Dino Berlinetta Speciale concept. This car inspired the Dino 206 GT that appeared in production form two years later, the concept's faired-in one-piece lights carried over in stylised form to the Sergio along with various other Pininfarina styling ticks.
Taking its name from Mr Pininfarina himself, the Sergio is based on a Ferrari 458 Spider and right from the start the styling house was boasting that this made it "a real car, not just a show car." Reports from Automotive News Europe would suggest Pininfarina has confirmed it will build 'five or six' Sergios and sell them for around 3m euros, which makes it an interesting alternative to the brutalist Lamborghini Veneno. Beauty and the beast? Quite possibly, Luca di Montezemolo giving the project his blessing and, alongside LaFerrari, somewhat raining on Lamborghini's already soggy Geneva parade. Professionally and personally, di Montezemolo is a fan, the styling house having built him a one-off F360 Modena Barchetta back in 2000.
Which is about as close to retro as it gets
Stripping back a 458 Spider, clothing it in bespoke Pininfarina carbon fibre and harking back to the minimalist Barchettas that characterised the early 50s Ferrari road and race car blueprint isn't a bad template. Doing that without getting bogged down in revisionist and retro styling an admirable display of confidence.
Pininfarina reckons the carbon bodywork saves around 150kg over a standard 458 Spider, saying the finished weight is "about 1,280kg" with suitable improvements in performance as a result. The lack of a physical windscreen is dealt with by an aerodynamic 'virtual' one effective above 30mph but if you really want to protect your hairdo Newmax helmets (colour matched to the bodywork, natch) are stored in the sills ahead of the doors.
With that mechanical and emotional provenance, never mind the stunning looks, it's doubtful Pininfarina will struggle to find buyers. Bravo!
