Bertone and Farina: The Coachbuilding Tradition Of Italy

My visit today (3/24) at the Masterpieces of Italian Design exhibit at the Petersen's Automotive Museum proved to be one that would teach me something not only about Italian automotive, but about my own Italian heritage and its place in the history of car making in the "old country."


The reason that I think the Sculptures in Motion exhibit was so successful in making me feel differently about the Italian automotive heritage is because it enabled me to see the Italian car as a "designer label" product in a way that I never would have been able otherwise.

During my visit I was satisfied to learn that the man named Batista, or "Pinin" Farina, who started the world famous designing firm that's been the backbone of Ferrari styling, was no more than a working Italian like a lot of us, who had a little exposure but had a tremendous love and talent for coach building.


As a matter of fact, Farina's career as the owner of a top bodystyling firm can be traced back to Italy in the 1920s when he worked for the coach building firm of his brother. Farina and the Pininfarina company that would arise under his watch would be ahead of the car styling curve by the early 1950s. 


In fact, Farina's professional relationship with Ferrari beginning in 1952 would only be one business merger, as Pininfarina would establish subcontracts with the American automaker, Nash, as well as with Peugeot.


Farina's system of international cooperation, combined with an overwhelming sense of style made Pininfarina a styling powerhouse. The aerodynamic wedge that would later be established as the construction norm for nearly all supercars, however, would be established by Lancia and Bertone.


This is because in 1970, Bertone designed the Stratus Zero for the automaker Lancia. The body was so focused on sleek aerodynamics that its roof pillars were positioned too low for conventional doors.


For this reason, the Stratus Zero was a protype that had a hatch that opened from the front, upon which passengers would step down into the car before sitting.

Bertone started in 1912, and it has since become one of the Italian car sector's oldest and most respected design firms. Like Pininfarina, Bertone got its humble beginnings in the coach business, but since then Bertone has been contracted by some of the industry's top sports car manufacturers.

Bertone has grown at epic rates over its 100 year history, but the cornerstone of their design is in the incorporation of the signature "wedge" for maximum aerodynamics.


This was a standard that began with the Stratus Zero prototype, but would become the defining feature that would also prove to be the most functional for Lamborghini, Maserati and other supercar builders later on.

Italian auto design in general is a mixture of a 100+ year old coachbuilding heritage and a contemporary need for evolving designs. The Italian automaker as a community brought supercars and other competitive sports cars to an aerodynamic climax.


Long before "supercars" however, independent firms like Bertone and Farina weren't so focused on functional cues like wind resistance. They treated cars, performance and otherwise, like a designer suit or an expensive wine.

The 917 Becomes Porsche's 24 Hour Race Horse

The FIA's World Championship of Makes racing category requires that all race cars run for either 12 or 24 hours, or for 1,000 kilometers. The race class also has restrictions of either 3 or 5 liter engines in prototype and sports cars, respectively, with the production limit on 3 liter prototypes being unlimited while the latter are required to fulfill a quota of at least 25 cars per manufacturer.


During that part of the 1960s when Ford and Broadley were trying to perfect the GT40, Porsche development director, Ferdinand Piech was looking to drive a sports car in the Championship of Makes circuit, instead of the cheaper prototypes. Looking to build a Porsche sports car that could satisfy the 5 liter displacement requirement, the development of the very first 917 would commence in total secrecy.

Design of the 917 began in May of 1968. Much to the surprise of Enzo Ferrari once he found out about the project, the 4494cc 12-cylinder was air cooled in Porsche/VW fashion. Porsche's drivetrain in the 917 turned out to be perfect for the application, though other design quirks would earn the car a poor reputation with some of Stuttgart's test drivers.


Within the automaker's walls, test drivers Jo Siffert, Udo Shuetz, Gerhard Mitter, Kurt Ahrens, Hans Herrman and Willi Kauhsen referred to the 917 as dangerous. They cited that the car lacked direction, not responding well to steering. The car also acquired the nickname "boil" around workers, because its stuffy cab was said to reach interior temperatures in excess of 70 degrees celsius.


The 917 was known to be especially touchy at high speeds, as when driving on such straightaways as Mulsanne that allowed for top end romps. It took the efforts of drivers Attwood and Elford to obtain a 21 hour lead in the 12-cylinder Porsche during the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans. They had been driving a long version of the 917, while the car's notorious handling issues were only noticed on the shorter unit.

Several changes and tweaks over the years to the differing racing categories by the FIA warped the Porsche 917's track success just as much as it had to Eric Broadley's T70, as sanction rules would not allow Porsche's trademark race car to participate in the 5 liter sports car class after the 1971 season.


In the same way that Ford's GT40 and the Lola T70 were platforms for track testing, the 917 became Porsche's endurance track piece that they needed to perfect. Only 46 cars of the actual 917 series were ever produced.