A stamp to celebrate Pininfarina’s 90th anniversary

A prestigious tribute for an important milestone. The Ministry of Economic Development is issuing a new stamp in the thematic series “The Excellences of the productive and economic system” dedicated to Pininfarina on the 90th anniversary of its foundation. With a print-run of four hundred thousand copies, each with a face value of 1.10 euro, the stamp is a true collector’s item: the vignette reproduces the Modulo, a concept car on a Ferrari base, which debuted exactly 50 years ago.

Printed by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A., the stamp was designed by Pininfarina. The first day cancellation will be available today at the philatelic counter of the post office of Cambiano (Turin), home town of Pininfarina.

The philatelic first-day cancellation ceremony took place this morning at Pininfarina’s Cambiano headquarters in the ultra-technological Sergio room which is used for physical and virtual events, design reviews with clients connected from all over the world, live streaming and virtual reality experiences. The room has proved to be a unique asset in recent months when travel restrictions have prevented meetings in person.

“Automotive design meets the fascinating world of philately and gives life to a miniature work of art”, comments Chairman Paolo Pininfarina. “This further recognition is a wonderful gift for our anniversary. It is proof that, after 90 years, we continue to live in the collective imagination as a symbol of Italian style, that combination of elegance and innovation the rest of the world identifies with our country”.

“Pininfarina has built 90 years of innovation”, adds CEO Silvio Angori. “The symbol of this journey is the Modulo, still considered, half a century later to be an icon of motor racing due to a revolutionary design that makes it look like a car from the future. As designers we are always called on to anticipate tomorrow on the basis of our dreams and to interpret technology in an emotional way. This will continue to be our mission, even when we reach 100″.

The Modulo, shown on the stamp with the “Pininfarina 90” logo on a white background, is a special, extreme, single-volume berlinetta. A unique experimental prototype of a futuristic car that breaks the mould of traditional styling language, it was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 1970. It won 22 international design awards, including the prestigious “Award For Design Excellence” from “Automobile Quarterly” for the “pure formal research in its intentional geometricity“.

The audacity of its solutions led the car to be chosen to represent Italian coachbuilders at Expo 1970 in Osaka and it was exhibited in Mexico City the following year as ambassador of Italian design. It soon became the archetype of automotive design of the 1970s: from that moment on, a number of supercars would find their inspiration in the lean, descending front hood, the low roof and the wedge profile.

Developed on a Ferrari 512S chassis and just 93 cm tall, the Modulo is characterised by two overlapping body shells, separated by a rectilinear indentation on the waistline. The front, canopy and trunk are combined in a single arching curve; the broad windscreen is bordered by truncated cone pillars that greatly lighten the sweeping surface of the front assembly. Access to the cockpit is gained by sliding the entire cupola, including the windscreen, on special guides. The interior of the cockpit is basic, with two anatomically shaped and very elongated, wrap-round seats for a correct driving position and a perfect anchorage of driver and passenger. Two unique rotating spherical elements act as a swivel ventilator and support for the main controls.