Pininfarina Sergio Concept at the Geneva Motor Show

One of the most eye-catching cars we will have the chance to see in Geneva is the Pininfarina Sergio Concept. As its name almost literally suggests, it is a concept that Pininfarina’s designers have dedicated to the former CEO of the design house, who passed away on 3 July 2012.

The Sergio Concept is not a tribute that tries to capture everything Sergio Pininfarina achieved during his years at the head of the design house; rather, it is a conceptual piece that looks to the future. An aerodynamic design exercise, a sports car without a windscreen, yet one that dares to offer helmets for driver and passenger.

The Sergio Concept features very pronounced aerodynamic shapes, based on the Ferrari 458, at a size no bigger than a Mazda MX-5. It is a car that is effective from an aerodynamic standpoint while also being functional for its occupants. At the front we find a front spoiler that helps improve handling on the road, but we also see that Pininfarina has included two air deflectors at the sides leading into the cabin, directing air over the driver and passenger. The roll bar rises from the rear of the car, a very stylised detail indeed, while even the rear-view mirror, unique and positioned at the centre of the dashboard, is designed so that air flows freely and does not cause turbulence in the cabin.

There are other details worth noting. For example, the doors open with a forward and upward movement, and the rear lights have the rounded shapes we very often find in the house’s products and in Ferrari, although they also perform the novel function of dissipating hot air from the oil coolers.

Will this concept go into series production? Everything seems to suggest that it will, since Pininfarina apparently has a limited series of the Sergio Concept planned, with some more “commercial” changes. And if we consider that in the past even the extreme Ferrari Mythos has earned a few production models, perhaps a tribute to someone who has devoted more than half of his life to working at Pininfarina deserves at least a few examples on the roads.

Via | Car and Driver