- 07 Aug 08, 13:04#60066
Gilles Villeneuve: If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari.
RIP Andrea, your designs will live on 
But did it have to be your time riding a Vespa
Car design head Pininfarina killed in crash
http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Motoring&fArticleId=4547550
Andrea Pininfarina, head of the family company that designs cars for Ferrari, Fiat and Ford, has been killed in a road accident in Italy while riding his Vespa scooter.
Pininfarina, 51, was chairman and chief executive officer of the company founded in 1930 by his grandfather Battista "Pinin" Farina. The accident, involving a collision with a car, happened north of Turin early on August 7.
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of Fiat and Ferrari, said in a statement: "Italy, Turin and the Fiat group have lost a business figure who knew how to follow and develop the work of his grandfather and father Sergio
Andrea Pininfarina was born in Turin, the centre of Italy's auto industry, on June 26, 1957 and joined the family business in 1983 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
He was married with three children.
The Pininfarina company designed iconic Ferraris such as the Dino and Testarossa, Alfa Romeos and the Focus marque for Ford.
News of the chief executive's death prompted market speculation that ownership - currently in the hands of the family with a 55 percent stake -could change.
The price of shares in the company jumped so high they had to be suspended in Milan for excessive gains and were indicated up more than 13 percent pending a resumption of trade.
The family already plans to cut its stake to around 30 percent through a sale of shares which the company hopes will raise €100-million to be used to develop an electric car for launch in 2009.
French financier Vincent Bollore could take part, investing up to €30-million, and Indian industrialist Ratan Tata is also believed to be interested.
Pininfarina agreed a deal with its creditor banks last week which temporarily exempted it from repayments on €600-million while it restructures its finances.
The company has tried to cut costs as the economic downturn hit automakers and narrowed losses to €9.7-million in the first quarter from €9.9-million in the same period a year ago. - Reuters
But did it have to be your time riding a Vespa
Car design head Pininfarina killed in crash
http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Motoring&fArticleId=4547550
Andrea Pininfarina, head of the family company that designs cars for Ferrari, Fiat and Ford, has been killed in a road accident in Italy while riding his Vespa scooter.
Pininfarina, 51, was chairman and chief executive officer of the company founded in 1930 by his grandfather Battista "Pinin" Farina. The accident, involving a collision with a car, happened north of Turin early on August 7.
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of Fiat and Ferrari, said in a statement: "Italy, Turin and the Fiat group have lost a business figure who knew how to follow and develop the work of his grandfather and father Sergio
Andrea Pininfarina was born in Turin, the centre of Italy's auto industry, on June 26, 1957 and joined the family business in 1983 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
He was married with three children.
The Pininfarina company designed iconic Ferraris such as the Dino and Testarossa, Alfa Romeos and the Focus marque for Ford.
News of the chief executive's death prompted market speculation that ownership - currently in the hands of the family with a 55 percent stake -could change.
The price of shares in the company jumped so high they had to be suspended in Milan for excessive gains and were indicated up more than 13 percent pending a resumption of trade.
The family already plans to cut its stake to around 30 percent through a sale of shares which the company hopes will raise €100-million to be used to develop an electric car for launch in 2009.
French financier Vincent Bollore could take part, investing up to €30-million, and Indian industrialist Ratan Tata is also believed to be interested.
Pininfarina agreed a deal with its creditor banks last week which temporarily exempted it from repayments on €600-million while it restructures its finances.
The company has tried to cut costs as the economic downturn hit automakers and narrowed losses to €9.7-million in the first quarter from €9.9-million in the same period a year ago. - Reuters
Gilles Villeneuve: If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari.
