A great edition of the Cavallino Magazine. For the Ferrari Pinin I make an exception on this blog as it's based on a Ferrari 400 and I like the design very much. This edition has 3 articles about this car. One is with the design lead Sig. Fioravanti. Next is about the car and the current owner. And lastly another designer who was involved with this car; Diego Ottina. All 3 articles are now combined in one pdf and in my archive. Such great articles and with stunning photographs. Wow!
The story of the current owner is a nice and entertaining read. It was mentioned he had owned several 400i's. The owner does not keep this car private in his own collection and has demonstrated it on various occassions. Potentially it might be on display at Villa d'Este next year. If so, I definately want to make an attempt to visit this concours. As the name of the owner is mentioned in the article I searched around a little and learned he has his own car museum. You can find more detail here, Nobles Family Automobile Museum:
flickr.com/photos/68999653@N07/albums/72177720303452101/with/52436780213
A very nice collection indeed and of course it does contain more photo's of the Pinin. Sadly I did not spot a 400 in his current collection.
I found the article about Diego interesting as well. The designers from that era were always in the background. This is an aspect that's highlighted in the article as well. Although not mentioned in this article, Diego apparently had design involvement regarding the Fiat 130 Shooting brake, the Maremma. Another special car of my liking. But I will not dwell to much on this.
Now available in the download folder:
And of course I was digging around a bit more. And via via via I ended up on the Ferrari Instagram page. Believe it or not, I was not following them (but now I finally do). In particular I hit this post, which is about the Purosangue and it's relation to the Pinin:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DOgSf0dCOlE/
And the last photo in that post is the following:
Yes, that's Enzo sitting in the Pinin. This specific photo was unknown to me, however I managed to find this hi-res full photo of it. Difficult to see but there are indeed 4 man sitting in this car. Click to enlarge:
Update 3 November 2026: I unexpectedly bumped in this Facebook post (27th May 2026) of a man (Rossano Candrini) who was close with Enzo Ferrari.
Translation:
A few evenings ago, I was having dinner at Amici's house. Among those present was Antonio Ghini, president of Ferrari during the Montezemolo era. Ghini was head of the press office and, I believe, the president's right-hand man. I hadn't seen him in a while. It was a pleasant opportunity to recall the many events he oversaw at Ferrari during his 15-year tenure, which remain pages of history in the world of Enzo Ferrari, which, in my opinion, Luca di Montezemolo has continued admirably.
Ghini reminded me that next year will be the eightieth for Ferrari and the fortieth for the F40, the last car born in the Enzo era.
Among the many memories, the track debut of a Ferrari that never went into production, apart from two prototypes commissioned by Pinin Farina.
Dr. Antonio Ghini, along with Engineer Mauro Forghieri, who oversaw the road launch of this four-door Ferrari at our Modena Autodrome, kindly made available to us by our friend Livio Grassi, was also present for the debut, along with Dr. Ramaciotti, who at the time was Pinin's head designer at that prestigious body shop.
But I don't want to repeat myself or dwell on this episode, which I've already remembered with such pleasure.
The meeting with Dr. Antonio Ghini took place on the evening of the presentation of the Ferrari Elettrica, or rather, Luce.
For me, an unforgettable memory is one I was fortunate enough to experience firsthand at Fiorano with the Commendatore.
The Pinin was presented at the Turin Motor Show in May 1980. I remember that date well because I visited the Turin Motor Show with Antonio Tomaini, whose wife was originally from Turin, and while our wives were visiting Tom's mother-in-law, the two of us slipped into the crowded showroom.
The Pinin was displayed at the PininFarina stand like a Queen, complete with protective ropes.
A few days before the show, the four-door car, which was scheduled to feature Ferrari's most prestigious engine—the five-liter, 180-degree, flat-twin with carburetors—was presented to Enzo Ferrari at the factory in Maranello, beneath the executive building. Some existing photos show Enzo at the wheel of the American-style four-door Ferrari, and the then-executive chairman, Sguazzini, helping him open the driver's door.
I had the opportunity to meet the Commendatore at Fiorano that same day.
Walking from the Commendatore's office building to the edge of the track, where Gilles and Jodi were testing a transitional T5 while awaiting the new 126 CK turbo, the Commendatore asked me if Ferrari was right to produce a four-door car.
Ferrari was an extremely curious man and had an extraordinary ability to listen, but then he would make his own decisions, listening only to his foresight and almost always good instincts.
I immediately said yes. I'm convinced that if it had only had one door, my judgment would probably have been the same.
The car never went into production; one of the two prototypes was destroyed on Ferrari's orders, and the other passed from the Swater collection through a Sotheby's RM auction held in Fiorano and into a company I owned.
I frequented Fiorano quite frequently during the Enzo Ferrari era; I had heard of the Commendatore's Solomonic decision that had condemned this "American-style saloon" to never be produced.
I had the courage to ask the Commendatore why he uttered the Solomonic phrase that "Ferrari will never make a car with four doors."
Enzo Ferrari, who had turned 82 more than six months earlier, with typical clarity and foresight, presented me with two concepts that I still find unexceptionable:
"Candrini," he told me, "a saloon is used every day; it must be The fruit of the experience and research of a large factory where hundreds of thousands of units are produced, he added, "He wants to compare the guarantee offered by a Mercedes with four doors in large numbers with one of our four-door sedans, produced in a few hundred units."
His second reason, which was particularly dear to him and supported by what he had achieved, was touching to me, and I still remember it with pleasure:
We must not forget that Ferrari must build cars that excite and delight, that must be a reward for those who can afford them: it must excite, Candrini, a Ferrari!!
I say today that recently this concept of emotion has slipped away from Ferrari.
I have no difficulty admitting that I am a man of the past generation and as such have limits on following the evolutions that even the automotive world imposes.
Simply and with many reservations, I say electric, yes, but always beautiful and exciting. The Ferrari style center has also recently produced wonderful cars. Exciting: 812/Purosangue/Daytona sp3.
The disappointment and grumbling are history's accepted truth.
I want to believe they'll remedy this soon; there's no shortage of worthy men at the Maranello factory.
