News from Italy

After the Ford-Pininfarina agreement, Turin is more than ever a melting pot for the world car industry

After the announcement, on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show of the memorandum of understanding signed by Ford of Europe and Industrie Pininfarina, Turin is bound to become one of the busiest crossing points of the car industry worldwide.

Now that Fiat and General Motors are actively implementing the alliance they formed one year ago and following the many agreements that links the masters of Italian coach building with carmakers from all over the globe, the alliance between Ford and Pininfarina should quickly lead the sector towards the development of new projects. The final contract should be signed shortly, as soon as all the final – and usually crucial – details have been agreed upon.

The agreement set the ground for a long lasting co-operation aimed to the engineering, development, testing, certification and production of niche market cars on behalf of the European branch of the North American giant.

In a joint press release, the two companies write that the first niche market car to be produced is the lovely StreetKa, a two-seater open-air convertible styled in Turin by the talented designers of Ford’s own Ghia, and unveiled last year on the occasion of the Turin Motor Show.

The agreement opens new international horizons to Pininfarina expanding those with General Motors (for which the Pininfarina Group designed and produced the Cadillac Allanté), Peugeot and Mitsubishi just to mention those related with the company industrial activity.

Among the reasons that have prompted Ford to seek an agreement with Pininfarina, the carmaker stresses that by using their specialised capabilities and expertise for niche products like the StreetKa makes more sense than if Ford was to invest in low-volume production capacity. This allows Ford to maximise resources to achieve a product-led transformation strategy with both high-volume models and niche derivatives.

If Ford of Europe strategy of committing production of niche products to an Italian coachbuilder (and carmaker) is adopted by other major carmakers, as it is likely, the Italian sector will continue to grow also in the next years.

Industrie Pininfarina currently produces the Alfa Romeo Spider and GTC for the Italian brand, the 306 cabriolet and the 406 coupe for Peugeot as well as the three and five door Pajero Pinin for Mitsubishi.

		March 12, 2001
		Stola presents its Boxster Fuoriserie at the “Palazzo dell’Arte Stola Group has just unveiled a unique Boxster Fuoriserie at the “Design in Movimento” exhibition promoted and organised by Automobilia at the “Palazzo dell’Arte” in Milan, Italy. This Boxster Fuoriserie ('special build') is called S 82 Spyder, it celebrates the company 82nd year of activity and comes as a two seater, open-air sports car with a 450 HP six cylinder mid-engine. In many respects it is the car that many Porsche enthusiasts, with a passion for the heritage of the past, have been – in some cases unconsciously – waiting for. The car has been inspired by the desire to create a Boxster that, as Porsche themselves visualised in a picture associating the new Boxster with their mythical 550 Spyder, was very unique and had the spirit of the 550 Spyder. Although at first glance the car looks almost identical to the production car, a second look proves that a number of very subtle changes and details have instilled into the Boxster the 550 Spyder spirit and made it a real, highly refined and very sophisticated “Fuoriserie”. The S 82 Spyder, maintains all of the Porsche safety and design features virtues but comes with an individual, distinctive touch. Asked about the reasons to build such a vehicle, Alfredo Stola, grandson of the company founder and project leader said that time has come for the Italian coach building industry to re-establish its tradition for the “Fuoriserie” that has made it famous world-wide in the past decades. The “Design in Motion” exhibition is hosted in Milan at the Palazzo della Triennale, Viale Alemagna 6, from March 9th to 25th. Exhibitors include Pininfarina, Italdesign, Stile Bertone, Alfa Romeo, 3search, Carcerano Styling Center, Gandini, Peugeot, Volvo, and Mercedes.
	Click for larger images	After the Ford-Pininfarina agreement, Turin is more than ever a melting pot for the world car industry After the announcement, on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show of the memorandum of understanding signed by Ford of Europe and Industrie Pininfarina, Turin is bound to become one of the busiest crossing points of the car industry worldwide. Now that Fiat and General Motors are actively implementing the alliance they formed one year ago and following the many agreements that links the masters of Italian coach building with carmakers from all over the globe, the alliance between Ford and Pininfarina should quickly lead the sector towards the development of new projects. The final contract should be signed shortly, as soon as all the final – and usually crucial – details have been agreed upon. The agreement set the ground for a long lasting co-operation aimed to the engineering, development, testing, certification and production of niche market cars on behalf of the European branch of the North American giant. In a joint press release, the two companies write that the first niche market car to be produced is the lovely StreetKa, a two-seater open-air convertible styled in Turin by the talented designers of Ford’s own Ghia, and unveiled last year on the occasion of the Turin Motor Show. The agreement opens new international horizons to Pininfarina expanding those with General Motors (for which the Pininfarina Group designed and produced the Cadillac Allanté), Peugeot and Mitsubishi just to mention those related with the company industrial activity. Among the reasons that have prompted Ford to seek an agreement with Pininfarina, the carmaker stresses that by using their specialised capabilities and expertise for niche products like the StreetKa makes more sense than if Ford was to invest in low-volume production capacity. This allows Ford to maximise resources to achieve a product-led transformation strategy with both high-volume models and niche derivatives. If Ford of Europe strategy of committing production of niche products to an Italian coachbuilder (and carmaker) is adopted by other major carmakers, as it is likely, the Italian sector will continue to grow also in the next years. Industrie Pininfarina currently produces the Alfa Romeo Spider and GTC for the Italian brand, the 306 cabriolet and the 406 coupe for Peugeot as well as the three and five door Pajero Pinin for Mitsubishi.
		After the Astra Coupe, Carrozzeria Bertone launch production of the Opel Astra cabriolet. In the meantime, at the Geneva Motor show, Opel and Bertone have presented another niche product made in Italy by Carrozzeria Bertone. This is the new Opel Astra Cabriolet that goes to complement the actual range of middle class cars sold by the Opel and Vauhxall, respectively the German and British brands of General Motors Europe. The Opel/Vauxhall Astra Cabriolet follows the Astra coupe engineered and built by Bertone in its Grugliasco plant, recently expanded and refurbished. At Grugliasco Bertone also produce the BMW C1 on behalf of the Bavarian company.
		The Seicento replacement is designed by Bertone According to well-informed sources, Stile Bertone has designed the heir to the current Fiat Seicento. Following the alliance with General Motors, Fiat top management has turned around their previous decision to approve a design strongly related to the revolutionary Ecobasic research vehicle (first presented to the motoring press in 1999). Fiat management, recently strengthened by J.J. Diaz Ruiz required its own designers as well the Italian design houses to present alternative proposals for the “city car” to be mass produced in Poland in the near future. Among the several projects submitted the one presented by Bertone has been judged the most attractive and eventually approved for production. The changes to the program inevitably implies a delay in the model change over but in Turin people are confident that it is for a good reason.