Italians have been the masters of the art of car making for a very long time and Pininfarina belongs to the elite class of Italian car designers. Pininfarina designed and styled many bodies for a long list of car companies, some of them being Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Alfa-Romeo, Fiat, Cadillac and so on. Batista “Pinin” Farina was the man behind all of what it is today. Since 1928, him and his army of designers, continue to make awe inspiring metal bodies even today.
The relationship with Ferrari propelled the design house to even higher altitudes with Pinin himself being Vice President of Ferrari for quite some time. Only two models of Ferrari were not designed by Pininfarina and that itself is proof for how close Enzo and Pinin were.
The first ever large scale production of cars from the Pininfarina design and engineering house was Alfa Romeo's Guillietta Spider, the Spider was an instant success all over the world and the demand for production increased exponentially. However, during the years of the recent economic crisis that hit the world by storm, Pininfarina was also affected and had to sell off or shut down many of its manufacturing plants and that also meant completely shutting down its automobile manufacturing operations.
Pininfarina now sticks to product design and innovation, creating prototypes for car manufacturers, and also employing articulate design methods for day-to-day appliances and other collectibles. The Pininfarina Fuoriserie is one such product that showcases the spirit of the Italian design house, innovation, science, beauty, tradition and craftsmanship. The bike was designed and manufactured by Pininfarina and a bicycle company, 43 Milano. The bike gathered its inspiration from tailor-made cars of the 1930's, with most of the works done on the cars by hand. The same principle has been carried over to this bicycle and it resulted in the creation of a timeless classic.
Features:
Chrome-plated steel frame with hand-welded Dedacciai Zero DR steel tubes. The steel tubes themselves are weldless and are made using special hardening and recovering process which gives the tubes a tensile strength of more than 1300N/mm². The top tube has a special walnut briar-root wood veneer to accentuate the classic looks. The saddle (BrickLaneBikes Mosquito) is done by the Bridge with interlaced leather. Handlebars also get interlaced leather finish, also done by the Bridge. Wheels are made in aluminium alloy and weighs slightly over 400 grams. Tires are reinforced with Kevlar to protect it from punctures. Brake calipers are designed by Campagnolo Veloce. Chains are by BLB Track Vera and is also made of alloys. Brake cables are made of aluminium, designed by Nokon Carl Stahl. A German company, Supernova, has designed the lighting system, which boasts a 250-lumen LED headlight and draws power from the wheels with the help of a dynamo. A booster propulsion system which runs using a miniaturized 250-watt electric motor, made by Zehus can achieve a speed of 25km/h and does not need to be recharged, thanks to the regenerative braking technology and also the pedalling action. Pininfarina logo is engraved on the brake knobs as well as on the top tube. The overall weight of the bike is not yet known. Only a total of 30 units will be manufactured, this is in reference to the 1930s. The price tag, however, resembles that of a painting or art work on auction, priced at $11,300.
This bike is meant to be more of a collector's item, something that gets to be displayed in the living room of an ancient chateau or a big mansion. All that said, the bicycle showcases what Pininfarina is all about, the tradition, the skills, the craftsmanship and the innovative spirit that the company still holds on to. Integrating new-age technology with classic looks has surely brought out a piece of eternal beauty.
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