2000 Ferrari Pininfarina Rossa Concept - A Little Harmless Fun or an Indicator of Future Ferrari Design
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| While Ferrari never had any intention of producing a road going Rossa, the concept does display a variety of styling cues we can expect to see in future models. (Photo: Pininfarina) |
Ferrari's relationship with Pininfarina is an automotive anomaly. The industry norm has an automaker's internal design department in charge of initiating conceptual drawings, creating clay models and then finally producing the life-size concept vehicle. If a decision to put a concept into production is made then the necessary tooling is set up for the brand's production department to build it.
Contrarily Ferrari, having initially only built engines and racing cars, needed outside design and production assistance to design and produce road going sports and GT cars - deemed necessary only so Enzo and company could fund its racing operations.
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| The Rossa's cylindrical taillamps appear relatively unchanged on the new mid-engine Enzo supercar. (Photo: Pininfarina) |
Thus strategic partnerships were formed with a variety of carrozzeria, including Vignale and Bertone. But of such none has been so prolific as that formed with Battista Farina, nicknamed 'Pinin' as a young boy. Pininfarina, which later became both his company and surname, has been responsible for more production Ferrari's than any other design house.
But unlike most large scale automakers who tease onlookers with what look like street ready machines, Ferrari's Pininfarina designed concepts always seem to stretch the envelope, pushing well beyond anything realistically feasible. The Rossa is a prime example.