Paolo Pininfarina, chairman of the Pinifarina Group and grandson of company founder Battista, has died at the age of 65. He passed away in Turin, the city of his birth, surrounded by his family, wife Ilaria, his five children – Greta, Giovanni, Iole, Tullio, and Giulia – plus his mother Giorgia Gianolio.
Paolo Pininfarina was born in Turin on 28 August 1958. After graduating in Mechanical Engineering he took a number of placements abroad including at Cadillac, Honda, and General Motors, before joining the family business in 1982. In 1987, he became President and CEO of Pininfarina Extra, a company within the group specialising in industrial design, furniture, architecture, nautical and aeronautical design.
Since 1988 he has been a member of the Board of Directors and, since 2002, a member of the Management Committee of the Parent Company Pininfarina. In 2006, he was appointed Vice President of Pininfarina and in 2008, following the sudden passing of his brother Andrea, he unexpectedly assumed the position of Chairman.
Of the cars personally overseen by Paolo, two were especially dear to him: the Sergio concept, a two-seater barchetta based on Ferrari mechanicals, which Paolo decided to create in 2013 in memory of his father Sergio, and the Automobili Pininfarina Battista, an electric hypercar bearing his grandfather’s name, which he unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2019.
An official statement from Pininfarina reads:
The Board of Directors and the Company gather around the Family in remembrance of Paolo Pininfarina’s professional and human figure, who for many years dedicated commitment, enthusiasm, and energy to the company founded by his grandfather Battista in 1930, presiding over it from 2008 to the present. Thanks to Paolo Pininfarina’s dedication, the company initiated a diversification process in the 1980s that led it to become a reference point in design fields other than automotive over time.
‘On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Board of Statutory Auditors, and all Pininfarina employees, I express deep sorrow and condolences for the loss of our dear Chairman,’ said Pininfarina’s CEO, Silvio Angori. ‘We are all extremely grateful to Eng. Pininfarina for his extraordinary contribution to the company and for always passionately advocating for our history and corporate identity both in terms of style and ethical and behavioral choices. I am personally grateful to him for confirming me in the leadership of the company following the passing of Andrea Pininfarina in 2008. Over these years, we have shared many triumphs and challenges, always advising and supporting each other. The best way to honor his memory is to continue, as he would want, to commit ourselves to the future of Pininfarina.’
Paolo Pininfarina’s long and illustrious career in design and the automotive industry has made him a reference figure in the Italian and international landscape, demonstrating his constant commitment to innovation and excellence.
