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Pininfarina body shop to close

October 12 2011 at 11:06am
By Colleen Barry

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2010 Alfa Romeo Spider becomes the last model to be designed and built by Pininfarina as the iconic Italian design studio closes its body shop.

Iconic Italian design studio Pininfarina is to give up one of its historic businesses: making car bodies.

It said it was ceasing production and laying off 127 remaining workers but would continue its design and engineering businesses.

The 2008 economic crisis saw a steep decline in sales for automakers that contracted companies such as Pininfarina to make specialty cars. Pininfarina produced its last cars in 2010, completing contracts for the Alfa Romeo Spider and Brera and the Ford Focus Coupe Cabriolet.

In its heydey, Pininfarina produced as many as 40 000 cars a year. Production in 2010 was 7000.

Pininfarina has already sold its auto assembly and painting business.

The deal was part of the northern Italian company's efforts to downsize and focus its business on design, engineering and producing more environmentally friendly technologies, including electric cars, as part of its new business plan.

Pininfarina, founded in 1930, has designed cars for Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Cadillac and Volvo, among others - but is most closely associated with Ferrari, designing nearly all of Ferrari's models since the 1950s. They include the convertibles the California Spider and the Daytona Spider. - Sapa-AP


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Anonymous, wrote

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04:41pm on 12 October 2011
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Iconic Pininfarina closing. Now this is a big shame for the worldwide auto industry. What a pity. Car buyers are increasingly being exposed to very bland design in the current century.

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Race Sound Performance Exhausts, wrote

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12:20pm on 12 October 2011
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Pinin would be both happy and sad; sad to lose touch with aluminium, but only pleased to be focusing on what he started over 70 years ago. We trust that all will go well, and say, Forza Pininfarina!

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