[reverse_gear]

Originally Posted by vagu

I read an article from Jalopnik that says Mahindra might be contemplating making cars under Pinnifarina name. And ... and looking at how well Mahindra is doing in Formula E it might be an Pinnifarina electric car!!

If Pininfarina starts selling cars under their own name, it will effectively be competing with its own clients (OEMs Fiat, Alfa Romeo, etc.) for whom they design cars. Won't this make those same clients more reluctant to hire Pininfarina to do their designs, thereby directly impacting their main source of business today?

[arjab]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Has Pinnifarina ever put cars out under its own name?

You are right. You can say they did and didn't. As far as i recall, when FIAT stopped US production of the 124 cabriolet in the early 1980's, they handed over the dies to Pininfarina who continued to produce and supply it to the US markets. Originally Pininfarina used to contract manufacture the 124 for FIAT.

I think they came up with a supercharged version also called the Volumex.
But then again, it was not an 100% Pininfarina product - if you know what i mean.
But yes, they do have the capability, like many other design houses a la Bertone, Karmann-Ghia to embark on limited batch production runs.

Moving with the times, i think, currently, the Aston Martin Lagonda Taraf, developed for the Middle Eastern markets, is being assembled by Zagato.

Pic Sources: internet image search. All credits to respective websites

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by arjab

. Originally Pininfarina used to contract manufacture the 124 for FIAT.

Similar to the Alfa Romeo Spider. Very nice car actually the Fiat 124 Spider, this one has the ugly US bumpers though.

Back in the Netherlands we used to organize a few joint events for the Fiat and AR Spiders. Good fun.

I thought, but I might be wrong P stopped their manufacturing/assembly somewhere around 2010 all together?

Jeroen

[vagu]

Originally Posted by reverse_gear

If Pininfarina starts selling cars under their own name, it will effectively be competing with its own clients (OEMs Fiat, Alfa Romeo, etc.) for whom they design cars. Won't this make those same clients more reluctant to hire Pininfarina to do their designs, thereby directly impacting their main source of business today?

I don't think Pininfarina has too much business with Fiat and Alfa except for some one-off designs. IMO the buyout is about the brand rights and designers rather than expanding Pininfarina's current business.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I'm not so sure. I', no expert but I think P is only known in pretty hardcore petrol head circels. Just becasue they added value in the past to other brands, doesn't mean they will do so in the future. There tend to be reasons why companies get themselves into financial troubles. Most commonly is actually not being relevant in your products and services for the current market.

Jeroen

Jeroen, i truly understand your concern and agree with some. Resurrecting brands is not easy let alone a very niche brand like Pininfarina. I think Mahindra was looking for a long time to find a european brand to expand. They tried to buy volvo and saab but finally got Pininfarina. Also, they were sitting on this deal for almost a year so they were quite unsure about it but finally took the call. I hope they have some solid plans.

Anyway, good times for Pinin. An Italian friend told me that some people working there haven't received salary for the last 6 months.

[mandalaybay]

Good catch Mahindra! Pininfarina is a worthy addition to the portfolio especially if they have global ambitions. However, as a standalone business, I don’t think Pininfarina can be transformed into a moneymaker. The business model that they once thrived by contract designing and building special models/cabriolets in low volumes does not exist anymore. As a car design and styling outfit, they might be able to offer their services to the ambitious Chinese, Indian or other Asian manufacturers; but the ballgame is certainly not the same in this century where all the product planning and development is done in-house by most major automobile manufacturers.

IMO, all things considered, what Mahindra should do at this juncture is to take over a coveted automobile brand and use Pininfarina as their engineering and styling partner. “Designed by Pininfarina” still has enough clout with so many Ferraris going around with PF badging. In other words, they need a JLR to put themselves on the world map. Without beating around the bush, what I have in mind is the once great but dying brand right In Pininfarina’s backyard in Turin, Lanica. If Anand Mahindra can pry out the Lancia brand and related IP from Sergio’s hands, Mahindra could weave it magic to make Lancia great again. In fact, Mahindra probably is one of the few auto giants in existence that can rekindle Lancia and make it a revered brand once again.

Not very many gearheads need introduction to Lancia. If anything, their unmatched record in WRC is renowned. A few years ago, TopGear voted Lancia as the greatest car company ever!! They were very innovative with many firsts in the industry and have tremendous motorsport history and above all, it is very very Italian in all what it has done! Lancia is destined to be retired after the only model Ypsilon runs out of its lifecycle. There is even a petition online urging FIAT not to kill the 110 year old Lancia at www.change.org and Twitter But with limited funds and focused on Alfa Romeo’s turnaround, the word is that the debt-laden FCA has no choice now but to kill Lancia in the coming years.

Mahindra, on the other hand can benefit greatly with such a storied brand in their portfolio. Yes, it will need a lot of investment, planning and time to make Lancia great again, but Indian conglomerates like Tata and Mahindra have made their marks in doing just that. Mahindra off late has turned around SsangYong and they are doing the same with Peugeot Scooters in France. Peugeot is going Moto3 racing in 2013. People called Ratan Tata a lunatic when the group borrowed money to take over JLR and now his biggest detractors are believers in him. I remember reading somewhere that JLR’s turnaround under Indian ownership has become a modern day MBA school case study. Another near dead brand Lincoln is on comeback trail in America and China with right product planning and investment. The reinvention of Cadillac as a luxury and performance brand is yet another success story to ponder. Both of these brands had to recapture the brand’s core values after straying away for decades of mismanagement. Never say never!

Whether Lancia fans like it or not, SUVs are the rage these days and has almost become a necessity to remain profitable these days. Loss making car companies are being resurrected only after they forayed into SUVs and crossovers. Porsche and Audi became dominant world players with SUVs and more recently, Bentley, Jaguar, Maserati and Lamborghini are jumping on the fray in the next two to three years. Thankfully, Mahindra has an enviable number of platforms for SUVs between their Mahindra and SsangYong brands. Pininfarina can very well do some reskinning and badge engineering initially with currently available models to bring new “Lancia” models to the market quickly. What SIAC has been doing with MG brand is analogous here. SsangYong’s limited but proven European and global network of dealers can easily bring new Lancias to newer markets. How about “Lancia by Pininfarina” badge on all of them?! Then, with time, they can develop models that are relevant to the Lancia brand. Brand building, engineering and expansion in newer markets will definitely take money and time; but it might be worth the exercise for the ambitious and capable Mahindra group.

The only questions are: Is Anand up for the challenge? If yes, will Sergio give away his stepchild to be raised by Indians? Time will tell whether Lancia fans will have something to rejoice!!

PS: If Mahindra was to take over Lancia, what can they do as far as product development and planning is open to discussion here. The only current model Ypsilon is being built in Poland! Let’s discuss immediate and long term models that will Lancia need to be successful. Feel free to indulge in details like platforms, models, engines, markets, EVs etc. Lets’s make the business case for Anand!

In the meanwhile, here are two interesting concept cars that the freelancers have done for Lancia. I am particularly chuffed with the Nuevo Delta. What do you think?

New Delta:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fDOWJeK_zY

New Stratos (2010):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J95nMPWnnk

[sujithpnair]

Originally Posted by mandalaybay

If Anand Mahindra can pry out the Lancia brand and related IP from Sergio’s hands, Mahindra could weave it magic to make Lancia great again. In fact, Mahindra probably is one of the few auto giants in existence that can rekindle Lancia and make it a revered brand once again.

Hello Mahindra-s: you hear this...?

Really a thoughtful suggestion- "mandalaybay".

[Visran]

Pininfarina teases new car ahead of Geneva

Pininfarina has refrained from providing any specific details, but in an official release it describes the car as an “innovative stylistic and technological jewel”.

Source:http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/mo...r-ahead-geneva