Exclusivity, innovation and passion
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 at the Geneva Motor Show 2013, the Sergio joins the brand that has so marked the history of Pininfarina: Ferrari. 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. 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. 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.
A custom-made car designed to convey emotions
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.
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.
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 numbers
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