The Ferrari Sergios are coming!

Posted: 09.01.2015
Source: Ferrari

All six cars to be delivered by the end of January

Maranello, 9 January 2015 – The first one was unveiled to the public and delivered to its owner during the recent Finali Mondiali in Abu Dhabi. However, all six extraordinary Ferrari Sergios will soon have been dispatched to their final destinations. In fact, the remaining five examples of the Pininfarina-designed extremely limited edition roadster will be in the hands of their owners by the end of January: three are going to the US, one to Japan and one to Switzerland.

 

The first Ferrari Sergio arrives in the UAE

Posted: 05.12.2014
Source: Ferrari

Just six of this limited edition roadster are being build

Abu Dhabi, 5th December 2014 – The first Ferrari Sergio has arrived in the United Arab Emirates. It has been delivered today to its new owner, the SBH Royal Auto Gallery in the UAE, at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit, where the Finali Mondiali Ferrari are being staged and which is home to the Ferrari World theme park.

Designed by Pininfarina, just six of this incredibly limited edition roadster are being built. The car was created to celebrate the spirit and core values of the historic Cambiano company in the 60th anniversary year of its collaboration with the Prancing Horse. Needless to say, Sergio was the only possible choice of name for the model, in homage to great Sergio Pininfarina, who sealed the unique, longstanding partnership with Ferrari.

The Ferrari Sergio is a genuinely radical car. It is both exclusive and spare in the sense that every single element aboard is focused entirely on performance. An authentic open-top, it explicitly references the track, underscoring and intensifying its sense of sportiness, fun behind the wheel and the pleasure of design at its purest.

The Ferrari Sergio’s performance and dynamics are excellent in the extreme too. It is based on the 458 Spider and retains the latter’s technological content as well as all of the functional aspects of its cockpit. It is powered by the latest 605 hp version of Ferrari’s naturally aspirated 4497 cc V8 which has won the International Engine of the Year award on three consecutive occasions. This power unit also guarantees the car sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3 seconds.

The Ferrari Sergio has an extremely simple, clear style. Both its volumes and treatments of its surfaces reflect the spirt of Pininfarina’s 1960s and 70s creations for Ferrari. Its proportions have been pushed to the extreme with the front of the car seeming to penetrate the rear which itself projects forward. The result is an exceptionally sculptural, three-dimensional take on the classic roadster. The two bodyshell masses are melded together via a longitudinal black insert, the main styling cue of the design. The flank is also characterised by the same black longitudinal element which acts as both a dividing and unifying element between front and rear. The two sections of the car flow effortlessly into one another resulting in sublimely harmonious yet extremely muscular forms.

As with all Ferraris, the Sergio’s design was never an end in itself but is a marriage of function and aesthetics. The semi-floating development of the front spoiler beneath the bonnet balances downforce and optimises heat exchange. The roll-bar is a modern take on the classic Ferrari flying buttress and negative rear window. Integrated into the roll-bars are the air intakes for clutch and gearbox oil cooling. Lastly, the rear nolder and rear extractor generate downforce, adding an efficient finishing flourish to the car’s design.

At the front of the car, Pininfarina has integrated the headlights in a classic move, turning them into a single transparent transverse element, a signature of the car’s extreme formal purity. At the rear, the circular tail lights are another modern nod to Ferrari history. The two-tone theme continues on both the front bonnet and rear deck with the latter featuring the iconic circular air vents seen on other iconic Pininfarina creations from the past.

The cockpit is pared-back and functional in the extreme with the engine compartment actually hugging the backs of the seats. The example delivered to Abu Dhabi has three-layer red exterior paintwork and an extremely sporty cockpit with black leather upholstery with contrasting red stitching, Alcantara seat inserts, and extensive carbon dash and door well trim. It also features Sergio-specific forged wheels, in this instance gold in colour with a diamond finish.

Each one of the six Ferrari Sergios was configured by its owner in dedicated sessions at the Tailor Made atelier in Maranello where clients are invited to personalise their cars to their own individual tastes. The atelier offers enormous freedom of choice in terms of colours, materials and finishes. As a result, every detail is extremely exclusive, thereby continuing the Prancing Horse tradition begun in the 1950s and 60s of creating bespoke cars minutely tailored to each client’s wishes.

 

Pininfarina in Geneva with the concept car Sergio

Posted: 06.03.2013
Source: Pininfarina


At the Motor Show world debut for the Sergio, a modern interpretation of the 2-seater barchetta

As a tribute to the Senator, the stand is also displaying one of his most beloved masterpieces, the Dino Berlinetta Speciale, 1965

Turin, 5 March 2013 – It is named Sergio, after the man who led Pininfarina for 40 years and conceived some of the greatest car legends. It is the new, amazing concept car created to celebrate the Life Senator Sergio Pininfarina. At its world debut today at the Geneva Motor Show, the Sergio joins the brand that has so marked the history of Pininfarina: Ferrari.

Universally known as Master of Italian style, the signature of Sergio Pininfarina left its imprint on the whole history of design with his creative genius, from the age of the great bodyworks to modern industry, often anticipating trends. The concept car dedicated to him renews the spirit of the extraordinary achievements under his leadership, translating it into a modern vision in the name of exclusivity, innovation and passion.

The Sergio, in fact, is a two-seater barchetta that looks to the future, very compact, very sporty, racy, pure and sensual. An exercise that Pininfarina decided to undertake on Ferrari 458 Spider mechanicals. Its formal interpretation is absolutely free, in the best tradition of the Pininfarina research which has produced so many Ferrari-based concept cars or unique models now recognised as masterpieces.

Its exclusivity and development on the basis of a production car, in fact, sets the Sergio in the tradition of the great Pininfarina custom-made cars specifically designed for “special” clients. It is therefore a real car that can easily be produced in limited series of a few units.

“My father would be proud of this concept car”, said Chairman Paolo Pininfarina, “because it expresses the aesthetic values that always inspired him: the purity of the lines, the harmony of form, and balance. Furthermore, he would be happy with this latest concept on Ferrari base, a brand to which we are related by a history that has helped define the most beautiful cars of all time in an evolution that has lasted 60 years and shows no sign of ending”.

On its stand in Geneva, Pininfarina has placed the new Sergio next to one of the Senator’s most beloved Ferraris: the Dino Berlinetta Speciale, a unique model presented at the 1965 Paris Motor Show, which led to the lines of subsequent Dino production cars. Since 1967, the Dino has been part of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest Collection and is exhibited along with other historic prestige cars in the Musée de l’Automobile of Mans.

With the new Sergio, Pininfarina confirms its excellence in design, the cutting edge of a Company deeply involved in engineering services, research applied to sustainable mobility and brand enhancement activities.
“This concept”, says the CEO Silvio Pietro Angori, “is the best way to confirm the role of Pininfarina as a bearer of the aesthetic values of Italian design in the world and to strengthen the brand name, the Company’s real distinguishing feature. Together with design, Pininfarina is highly focused on all the traditional activities aimed at providing vehicle manufacturers with an all-round service: engineering: product development, testing, prototype construction. The enhancement of production assets and know-how is expressed in the creation of unique pieces like the Sergio or limited edition cars realized thanks to unique craft skills gained in over 80 years of activity”

 

Pininfarina unveils the Sergio, the exclusive two-seater barchetta in the name of innovation and passion

Posted: 06.03.2013
Source: Pininfarina

“The key is to preserve the heritage of the past by projecting it into the future” (Sergio Pininfarina)

Pininfarina is presenting a concept car that renews the spirit and values of the extraordinary achievements obtained under the leadership of Sergio Pininfarina, projecting them into the future in the name of exclusivity, innovation and passion. A concept car in line with the approach that has allowed Pininfarina to generate a wealth of creations that have become car legends: the ability to combine passion, creativity, intelligence, technology and elegance in the continuity of the brand’s genetic code. A mixture of aesthetic balance and elegant simplicity that last over time and make all Pininfarina models long-lived and resistant to changes in taste and fashion.

The new Pininfarina concept car could only be called Sergio. It is an exercise that Pininfarina decided to undertake on a brand that more than any other has marked the history of Pininfarina: Ferrari. The name of Sergio Pininfarina is inextricably linked to that union conceived 60 years ago: the Sergio, therefore, will also celebrate the importance of Pininfarina’s contribution to the history of Prancing Horse design. A tribute that was immediately morally supported by Luca Montezemolo and Ferrari as a whole.

The two-seater barchetta of the future
With the Sergio you enter the fascinating and exciting realm of the two-seater barchetta as a unique and extreme object. Sportsmanship in the truest sense of the joy of driving, the passion of those who view cars as an unequalled source of excitement, the pleasure of admiring the essentiality of a one-off car by Pininfarina.

The sports car theme is built into Pininfarina: the fruitful collaboration with Ferrari which began in 1952, has generated some of the most popular sports cars of the postwar period. Returning to the charm of the two-seater Ferrari, compact and very sporty, is moreover, the perfect base for bonding Pininfarina’s past to the future. The Sergio’s mechanicals are those of the 458 Spider, which remains unchanged in its wheelbase and tracks. The formal interpretation, from which the dynamic, fluid and pure volumes spring, is absolutely free, in the best tradition of that Pininfarina design vision that has produced so many Ferrari-based concept cars recognised over time as masterpieces, such as the Mythos of 1989 and the Rossa of 2000. This approach also reminds us of Pininfarina’s Ferrari-based custom-built cars such as the Testarossa Spider made for Giovanni Agnelli in 1987 or the Ferrari F360 Modena Barchetta in 2000 for Luca Montezemolo.

The result is a modern, organic view of the mid-rear-engined two-seater barchetta. The willingness to revisit volumes and surface treatments in a subliminal way emerges with the Sergio, which evokes the spirit of Pininfarina’s best achievements for Ferrari of the ‘60s and ‘70s. A radical object, unique and essential, which rejects the superfluous and is performance-oriented. A real open air car with an explicit nod to racing cars, in the sense that a cupola is not fitted to protect occupants, for which two helmets are provided.

A realistic indeed quite possible concept
The modern interpretation of a barchetta is a choice consistent with one of the historical peculiarities of Pininfarina: mastery in the crafting of exceptional car bodies, capable of stirring emotions and becoming a future icon. The historical role of car body designers directed the design team towards research not on anew, hypothetical product for volume production, but on the creation of an exceptional object capable of expressing the Pininfarina DNA imprint; its exclusivity and development on the basis of a production car, in fact, places the Sergio firmly in the tradition of the great Pininfarina one-offs specifically designed for “special” clients, which makes it a real car, not just a show car.

The design theme
The Sergio is distinguished by a very simple and clear style, that becomes memorable the moment you look at it. Proportions pushed to the extreme, a dynamic front volume penetrating into a rear that is projected forward, a sculpted, three-dimensional interpretation of the typical barchetta. The composition of the two body masses through a longitudinal black insert becomes the design’s guideline. Two volumes that enfold from outside to inside the car, creating a division/union line between back and front. Through the extremely fluid passage from one body to another, a form that was homogeneous in its accentuated muscularity was obtained.

The Sergio also expresses an iconicity linked to ‘60s Ferraris proposing bulging and sensual wings inspired by those of sports cars and racing cars of that era, achieved by compacting all volume accessories as much as possible. The extreme lightness of the Sergio, which appears to float with the front up, is a direct result of aerodynamic research. In the purest Pininfarina tradition, design is not an end in itself, but integrates functionality and aesthetics. The front semi-floating development with the spoiler under the front, expresses aesthetic force and is at the same time functional for the stabilisation of the aerodynamic load and the heat exchange. The aerodynamic deflector in front of the cockpit also creates a virtual windscreen through the deviation of the air flow, protecting the passengers from turbulence. The roll bar, designed as a wing surface, is perfectly tuned to the evolution of the flow coming from the front, adding a further down force effect. Finally, the rear nolder and the extractor close the design effectively and functionally. Still on the subject of aerodynamics, even the rear-view mirror takes on a fluid form that, given the flow of the front baffle, helps to divert air from the heads of the passengers.

To enhance the formal purity of the Pininfarina style criterion, all the technical parts of the Sergio (handles, fins, air intake holes) are concentrated in dark parts of the body, leaving the red painted parts free.

The side
The formal harmony of the side view is a strong feature of the Sergio, renewing the common aesthetic denominator of many Ferraris by Pininfarina. In the tradition of barchetta sports cars, the Sergio has no conventional doors but half doors with vertical rotation opening for easy access and contemporarily safeguarding the maximum rigidity of the structure on the side, as in racing cars. The three-quarter front view highlights the theme of the connections between floors and different trends providing a feeling of processed continuity.

The front
On the front, the Sergio takes up and develops the Pininfarina’s traditional integration of the headlights by projecting it into the future in a single transparent transversal element, as in the Dino Berlinetta Speciale 1965. Adapted to the size and technology of our own times, this element becomes an identifying mark, resulting in extremely clean lines. In particular, the cylindrical projectors in aluminium use LED technology and are embedded in a crystalline block of Plexiglas that diffuses light.

The rear
The rear lights reinterpret the circular themes of Pininfarina-Ferrari history transforming them into open functional elements whose forms contemporaneously provide the lighting function and the hot exhaust air coming out of the oil coolers.

The rear bonnet borrows the iconic round graphic holes of other historical Pininfarina achievements and the same treatment is applied to the transom to facilitate cooling of the engine compartment and represents in the best possible way the absolute perfection and timelessness inherent in Pininfarina DNA.

The interior
Since this is a realistic car that could easily be produced in limited series, the Sergio opted for the mechanicals of a completely re-bodied Ferrari 458 spider, maintaining the original technology and its performance. For this reason, the interiors take all the functional parts of existing series (dashboard, seat structure, centre console and steering wheel). The interior is essential and functional and develops as a natural extension of the external surfaces: the black exterior slips into the car and creates the tank where the standard technical components are integrated. Even the engine bonnet descends inside, wrapping round the rear part of seats. The door panels integrate the functions of the handle and armrest and are designed as floating elements separate from the tank.

One innovative element consists of the floating, aerodynamic headrest connected to the roll bar rather than to the body of the seats, almost becoming elements of the exterior than the interior. Besides ensuring maximum purity of the lines, this solution also acts as head fairing in the rear.

In front of the door panel, two helmets are housed in a small recess of the channel. Made to a specific design of Pininfarina Extra in collaboration with Newmax, the Sergio helmets are personalised with the colour of the car body.

Colour and trim
The upholstery is mostly covered with light gray antique-effect leather bound to seats in a weaving technology textile with bronze details. These finishes match the original titanium colour of the standard technical parts. The fabrics on the seats are complemented by the insertion of metal studs that recall the details of the exterior design theme.

The exterior crimson colour, was inspired by the original red of the Dino Berlinetta Speciale, very intense and deep, developing a modern version including metallic particles and a multi-layer depth effect.

The rims represent a contrasting element compared to the rest of the car. The delicate surface of the body is contrasted with technological forms based on the quest for light weight and performance. The gilded finish is an obvious reference to the racing berlinettas of the Sixties and Seventies, even if the treatment is up to date and the surfaces of the spokes are in hand-brushed aluminium.

Aerodynamic studies for a comfortable lightweight sports car
Changes in the body with which the Pininfarina Style Centre has transformed the original car. A Ferrari 458 Spider, into a barchetta were supported by calculations and tests in the Grugliasco wind tunnel to optimise aerodynamic performance. In particular, a totally new body was produced, full carbon, saving about 10% in weight compared to the original body in aluminium, all to the benefit of acceleration and pick-up. Compared to the original car, 21” light alloy one-stud wheels were included, with a specific design, and a hub version derived from the 458 Challenge; new Led taillights, new specific headlamps inserted into the bumper; specific small doors, window-less and opening upward by 45 degrees; new dash top; modified seats, with new fixed head restraints, disconnected from the seat. The roof, windscreen and rear bench seat were removed.

The aerodynamics have made it possible to achieve interesting results, starting with the creation of a virtual windscreen. The elimination of the windscreen would, in fact, involve a flow of air at increasing pressure as the car’s speed increases on the heads of the driver and passenger. The engineers and designers at Pininfarina have therefore designed, built and tested an airfoil placed in a recess on the front bonnet, which produces a double deflection of the air flow entering the passenger compartment. The first deviation is from the wing itself, the second from the air that accelerates in the channel created between the airfoil and the corresponding shape of the recess in the trunk. The result is that, thanks to the virtual windscreen, the air passes above the heads of the driver and the passenger, greatly increasing comfort. This aerodynamic effect also contributes to increase the down force on the car’s front axle. The virtual windscreen is effective at speeds as low as 50 kph.

The loss of aerodynamic load on the front axle, due to the elimination of the windscreen, has been recovered from a wing inserted in the front bumper. The shape and dimensions of the wing are calculated so as to give the required load at the various speeds and, at the same time, allow correct flow of air to the radiators of the cooling system, set centrally at the front.
To improve the protection of the occupants a roll-bar with a fixed spoiler increases the down force on the rear axle. The attention to detail goes so far as the central rear-view mirror, whose form has been aerodynamically optimised to link up with the air flow of the virtual windscreen. The engine’s air intake is channelled from the air inlets in the two sides. The air vents at the base of the roll-bar convey the cooling air to the oil coolers.

Overall, the Sergio offers real sports performance, with a shell of torsion stiffness which exceeds that of the original spider, thanks to the reduction in the size of the doors, and the reduction of the total mass of about 150 kg compared to the spider. This allows good handling and a further improvement of acceleration, estimated at below 3.4 seconds for 0-100 kph, at the top of its class.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Maximum length: 4550 mm
  • Maximum width: 1940 mm
  • Maximum height: 1140 mm
  • Boot capacity: 110 litres
  • Power train (original Ferrari 458 Spider): 4499cc V8; Sequential gearbox 7M + RM Package: 2 doors, 2 seats
  • Chassis: original 458 Spider Cx XS: about 5% lower than the original car
  • Weight: about 1280 kg
  • Maximum speed: approx 320 km/h
  • Acceleration from 0 to 100: less than 3.4 seconds

 

Dino Berlinetta Speciale

Posted: 06.03.2013
Source: Pininfarina

A prototype that foreshadows the formal structure of the “berlinetta” series that was conceived three years later, the Dino Berlinetta Speciale debuted at the Paris Show of 1965 and immediately left its imprint on the press and public for some unusual solutions such as the short tail, the rear concave window, the very low hood compared to the wings and the side scoop that extended the rear air vents.

Since 1967, the Dino has been part of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest collection and is exhibited along with other historic prestige cars in the Musée de l’Automobile of Le Mans. Sergio Pininfarina, during a visit to France, had donated this unique piece to the Club, which as a tribute to the Senator pledged never to sell it.
In Geneva, 2013, the Dino is displayed on the Pininfarina stand next to the new Sergio. “The reason why we are exhibiting the Dino Berlinetta Speciale”, Paolo Pininfarina explains, is because my Father often put it at the top of his preferences, among dozens of masterpieces designed for Ferrari. The Dino was also the last Ferrari on which he worked with my grandfather Pinin, who passed away in 1966. Furthermore, it is quintessential Pininfarina design: sleek, pure, sensual, and with great attention paid to aerodynamic details”.
The power of the engine, the lightweight, durable chassis, and the aerodynamics of the body, are the basic premises of this unique model design.
Aesthetically, the car has a very low, sleek line developed on the basis of a simple lenticular shape, from which the roof fairings and wheels have been obtained. The front, which slopes steeply towards the front end, is designed to offer the least air resistance. This is also why the headlights are enclosed in a winding perspex casing, which continues the car’s arched profile. The bonnet presents a completely smooth surface, interrupted only by an adjustable slit as an air outlet, cooling the water in the radiator. The wings, despite being very pronounced because of the large tyre size, flow seamlessly into the sides.
The side view is characterised by the particular belt line that develops upwards to terminate in a truncated section. The windscreen is very wide. The roof panel is fine and small. It ends in a particular rear window design, while it laterally extends to the tip of the tail. The side lights are composed of two fully descending door windows and two fixed rear windows. A dihedral, running along the entire perimeter of the side lightens the effect of the whole. A scoop of original design located beneath the side lights, acts as an air intake for the brakes.
The rear part, where the majestic powertrain is located, ends in a truncated section which houses the rear lights delimiting a double panel with slits. The bonnet is rather large and is raised completely up to the height of the rear window, so as to allow ready access to the engine.
Inside, the foam padded instrument panel, shock-resistant and anti-reflective, contains the on-board equipment and the various commands. The two special seats are upholstered in leather. The rear compartment is equipped with special bulkheads padded with anti-thermal material. All the elements that make up the internal structure of the passenger compartment, including the roof and pillars, are padded with anti-shock natural rubber and coated with elastic leather.

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