Duet in design. How Pininfarina and Zagato revolutionised the shape of the automobile: the 1940s

Pininfarina and Zagato are the undisputed design stars in the history of the Italian automobile. Numerous icons of today's Classic Cars show their signature and this history continues: Today, simulators from the design kitchen of Pininfarina and Zagato are the key to the virtual world of Classic Cars on Roarington. In a new series, we take a look back at the heyday of Italian car design and show two icons each from Pininfarina and Zagato, arranged by decade. We start with the 1940s: Cisitalia 202 by Pininfarina from 1947; Ferrari 166 Panorama by Zagato from 1949.

__Cisitalia 202 – Pininfarina: «A sculpture in motion»__

When it comes to stylistic innovations in the automotive field, one cannot fail to mention the Cisitalia 202, a true milestone in Pininfarina style. Post-war Italian design began with this vehicle. The first car in the world to be permanently exhibited in a Modern Art Museum, the MoMA in New York, this Berlinetta was built in small series for Cisitalia at the Stabilimenti Farina in Turin in 1947. This 2-seater Berlinetta is perhaps Pininfarina's most famous post-war car, due to its synthetic and plastic shape, defined in 1951 by Arthur Drexler as "a sculpture in motion". Its shape is the culmination of all previous research: a simple, essential front end, a full-volume roof and a clearly designed rear window. On a tubular chassis, Pinin created a berlinetta with an aluminium body welded to a steel frame. It is a car that heralded a new aesthetic canon in the history of motoring. Revolutionary for the time was the horizontal design of the radiator grille, with the bonnet lower than the mudguards, which incorporated the headlights. A car with pure, smooth, essential lines, with a style that preempted the lines and design that would distinguish the Sixties. Looking at the profile, one immediately notices the set-back cockpit, and above all the coupé shape. The front windscreen is split in two, and is separated from the line of side windows by a very small pillar. The chrome of many elements is picked up by the small round mirrors, the door handles, and the line separating the front and rear windows. The Cisitalia 202 is a masterpiece, a car with a soft, sinuous, very elegant design, typical of the style of Pininfarina with its austere, timeless beauty.