Battista “Pinin” Farina founded his revered automotive-design company in 1930, bringing with him the nickname that referred to his being the baby of his large family to create Carrozzeria Pinin Farina. He officially changed his last name, and the name of his company, to Pininfarina in 1961.
The 2021 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance celebrated the anniversary of Pininfarina’s founding – originally meant to be a 90th anniversary observance at the canceled 2020 California concours – in a big way, with two feature classes of Pininfarina-designed Ferraris, pre- and post-war, as well as two classes of the carrozzeria’s coachbuilt designs for other marques, also pre- and post-war.
While Pininfarina is most famed for its dramatic designs of Ferrari factory models and such unique examples as the 1966 Ferrari 365 P Berlinetta “Tre Posti” (shown on the official poster for the Tour d’Elegance), our interest here is in the non-Ferrari cars that were shown on the 18th Fairway this year.
From Lancia and Alfa Romeo to Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz, the Pinin Farina Pre-War and Pininfarina Post-War classes demonstrated how the company’s designers could put their sleek and evocative imprints on standard models to create something special and, oftentimes, spectacular.
Each of the two concours classes were won by coachbuilt Lancias, with the pre-war prize going to a 1938 Lancia Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet and the post-war honors going to a 1953 Lancia Aurelia Pinin Farina PF200 C Spider.
1964 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL Pininfarina coupe 
1932 Cadillac 452A Pinin Farina V16 Boattail Roadster
1948 Bentley Mark VI Facel-Metallon Cresta coupe 
1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Pinin Farina Cabriolet
