Andrea Pininfarina dies in road crash

PININFARINA chairman and CEO Andrea Pininfarina died last Thursday (August 7), after a car failed to give way and collided with the Vespa scooter he was riding to the famous styling and contract-engineering company's design and R&D centre in Cambiano, near Turin in Italy.

He was aged 51.

"Our family has been stricken by an immense tragedy, but we are determined to keep Andrea's memory alive in all of us," Andrea's father and the company's honorary chairman Sergio Pininfarina said in a statement.

Andrea's younger brother and the company's deputy chairman Paolo said:"The best way to honor my brother's memory is to continue to pursue with undiminished strength and determination the path that he had chosen for the company."Among the tributes that have flooded in for Mr Pininfarina, who was appointed CEO in June 2001, was a statement from Fiat and Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo.

As well as the close ties forged between the design house and the Fiat Group – embodied in almost every Ferrari since the 1950s and a raft of other models from Alfa Romeo and Fiat – Mr Pininfarina had served, until recently, under Mr Montezemolo as deputy chairman of the powerful employers' association Confindustria.

"With Andrea Pininfarina, I have not only lost a great friend but also a valuable partner in business," Mr Montezemolo said.

"With him, I shared many years of work and the success of the Ferraris he designed, in addition to his significant and unforgettable collaboration at Confindustria, where his contribution as vice-president was fundamental.

"He was an individual of great human and professional qualities. Italy, Turin and the entire Fiat Group have lost a symbol of entrepreneurialism, a man who carried on, and introduced innovations to, the work of his grandfather Pinin and his father Sergio."Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said: "Italy has lost one of its symbols of industry. He was part of a dynasty that made the phrase 'Made in Italy' known throughout the world."Mr Pininfarina is survived by his wife Cristiana and three children.

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