Automotive

Pininfarina can serve the client right from the earliest stages when defining the strategic positioning of a brand, even before it takes on a visual definition. This service, which involves contributions from both designers and User Experience specialists at Pininfarina, is sought after by both startups due to their inherent nature and established companies that need to launch new brands or reposition existing ones.

In particular, the Pininfarina team develops the following content:

• Analysis and concept research to define the strategic brand positioning.

• Design of the brand identity and logo.

• Application of the brand identity across all brand touchpoints (products, stores, dealerships, exhibition booths, corporate offices, etc.).

Pininfarina's design services cover the entire creative and product development process, including all the following stages:

• Styling benchmarking & trends analysis

• Ideas (Sketches & Renderings)

• Colour & Trim

• Virtual Surfaces (CAS, C Class, B Class, A Class)

• Virtual Movies

• Physical Modelling (foam, clay, resin, 1:1 and scale models)

• Virtual Reality

From a methodological perspective, some aspects are of particular interest to our clients, ensuring the quality of the work developed by the Pininfarina team:

• The rigorous application of a convergence process - involving all aspects contributing to the design development, whether stylistic, technical-functional, or related to technological and industrial feasibility.

• This convergence process utilizes the most advanced virtual and physical development and verification methodologies throughout the entire project progression process, from initial style research, through development, style freeze, to industrialization.

• The flexibility to establish a collaborative working model with the client's design team, if present, based on engagement rules defined on a case-by-case basis according to the client's requirements and the project's evolution.

Cellula is Pininfarina’s Interactive Buck combining Virtual Reality with a physical car's seating area, fully configurable to simulate different vehicles and interior layouts.

Cellula is an extremely powerful tool conceived to support the various phases of a new vehicle development, starting from the very early stages, and to optimize the design of a family of vehicles, by identifying the optimal trade-off between commonalities and differentiation.

Amongst the different configurations, Cellula allows to adjust the following measurements and settings:

• Ground height

• Platform width

• A diverse range of seating positions and ergonomic settings, including the HMI

• A wide range of steering wheel and pedals positions, both LHD and RHD

In essence, Cellula, as a “phygital” tool that allows not only to evaluate the packaging and the ergonomics of a car's interior, but also to evaluate and test the HMI development and the user experience, showcasing design iterations and CMF proposals, continuously progressing during the progression of the project.

In the realm of HMI (Human Machine Interface), Pininfarina begins by defining the architecture in collaboration with the styling department, focusing on physical ergonomics, functionality, and new methods of interaction with the intended touchpoints. “Form follows function” thanks to our combined expertise and capability in interaction, UX (User Experience), and interior design. 

Once the HMI architecture is defined, the dedicated UX/UI team works on the visual and motion design aspects of the interface. We handle all types of interfaces that the vehicle will offer to its occupants: from physical UI to graphic UI to voice UI. 

The UI design process starts with initial thematic design concepts and progresses to production design. Through design sprints, we create various mock-ups and prototypes for the evaluation and usability testing of proposed solutions. 

The process concludes with the design of a dedicated design system to enable software development and integration of the desired interface of the vehicle.

Among the design services offered by Pininfarina is the possibility to develop and create physical demonstrators of various types, including:

• Static "Show-vehicles" fully representative of the exterior and interior design of the project.

• "Functional demonstrators" with functional features defined based on the client's specifications and required performance. Construction can be based on a chassis developed and built specifically by Pininfarina or using a rolling chassis or electric skateboard provided by the client.

In the creation of physical demonstrators, Pininfarina is able to provide all of the following services:

• UX design

• 2D Styling research

• Colour & Trim

• Virtual surfacing (3D CAS)

• Virtual reality

• HMI design

• 1:1 scale Exterior and Interior

• Engineering for show-vehicle construction

• Dynamic show-vehicle construction

The construction of physical demonstrators takes place at the Pininfarina facility in Cambiano, following a process that integrates all the necessary work in dedicated departments, including

• Models Shop

• Milling Shop

• 3D Additive Shop

• Paint Shop

• Upholstery Area

In implementing Brand Licensing, Pininfarina goes beyond granting rights to the Pininfarina name and brand. Pininfarina proactively provides comprehensive support to clients and projects, leveraging the power of the Pininfarina image and brand. The focus is on co-creating an effective marketing and communication strategy, also leveraging Pininfarina’s media platform and assets, to successfully market the project.

The engineering development at Pininfarina is ensured by the numerous competences distributed between the Cambiano headquarters and the Pininfarina Germany team, as well as by the integration of the Wind Tunnel among the fundamental assets in product development. Particular attention is paid to identifying the optimal combination of virtual and physical validation methodologies.

The engineering services provided by Pininfarina to its customers are divided into three main areas.

Engineering to support style development

• Vehicle architecture/package creation at concept development stage

• Feasibility of style

• CFD preliminary validation

• Aerodynamic and aeroacoustic development in the Wind Tunnel

• Engineering of show vehicles and running concept vehicles, including platform and electrical/electronic architecture

Programs "Turnkey"/Work packages

• Development for production (Top Hat)

• Vehicle integration

• Virtual simulations

• Aerodynamic and aeroacoustic development in the Wind Tunnel

• Performance Management

Engineering development for one-off, small series, Limited Series

• Development strategies: streamlined and customised on low volumes, but able to achieve performance

• similar to those of regular production cars from which the special series derives.

• Integrated style process with feasibility, engineering and aerodynamic development.

• In-depth knowledge and use of the most suitable materials such as composites, carbon, aluminium

• Modular use of different technologies according to the production volumes required

• Development and validation of customized components on small volumes

• Time to Market particularly effective

The Pininfarina Wind Tunnel represents a cutting-edge strategic tool for automotive OEMs, enabling them to achieve high-level standards in vehicle performance, energy consumption, and overall comfort through aerodynamic and aeroacoustic testing and validation. The centre primarily operates on 1:1 scale automobiles in the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic sectors.

• Aerodynamic forces and moments 

• T- BELT for the simulator of Car to Ground relative motion up to 250 km/h 

• Turbulence Generation System (TGS) 

• Wake measurement 

• Cooling flow/ brake discs cooling 

• Soft top deformation 

• Visualization “smoke” and laser light 

• Maximum capacity of the scale: 3500 kg

• Maximum wheel diameter: 23”

• Internal and External Noise

• Planar beam forming: frontal, lateral and overhead 

• Acoustic Heads for the interior noise 

• VisiSonics internal beamforming device with 64 microphones & 5 cameras 

• 3D VR visualization of internal beamforming

• Microphones for the noise infiltration

In addition to being Car Designers, Pininfarina has been practicing the art of coachbuilding since its foundation, with a natural inclination for custom-made cars, often elevated to the status of "cult objects."

Thanks to its ability to interpret the dreams of customers and create unique pieces or limited series, Pinin Farina's Coachbuilding quickly gained fame in Italy and abroad in the 1930s and 1940s. Today, Pininfarina is deeply committed to coachbuilding, dedicating expertise, facilities, and specific work methodologies to the creation of unique cars (one-offs), very limited series (few-offs), or even on runs of a few dozen or a hundred units (Limited Series), commissioned by some of the world's most prestigious automobile manufacturers.

This Pininfarina service, covered by the highest standards of confidentiality, intervenes in all phases leading to the creation of the personalized final vehicle: from styling to design, from material selection to painting and final assembly. In particular, Pininfarina provides and integrates the following services:

• Vehicle conception

• Packaging and donor car evaluation

• Style feasibility and design development

• Engineering and validation

• Vehicle manufacturing

Pininfarina supports the client in introducing the product to the market with various services, including the design of retail spaces, booths, and experiential environments. Additionally, Pininfarina can create photorealistic renderings and animations that can be used as marketing materials. There is also the opportunity to leverage the Pininfarina brand and create synergies in the organization of events.