Pininfarina Sergio Pininfarina

The Sergio at a glance

Why Pininfarina built the Sergio

Sergio Pininfarina led the Turin design house founded by his father, Battista "Pinin" Farina. He shaped many of the best-known Ferraris built after 1950. When he died in July 2012, Pininfarina chose to honour him with a concept car on Ferrari mechanicals. The brief looked back at three of the studio's most radical Ferrari studies: the Dino Berlinetta Speciale of 1965, the Modulo of 1970 and the Mythos of 1989. The full story of the coachbuilder is in the history of Pininfarina.

The concept was a pure barchetta, with no roof and no windscreen, built to be driven in the open air like the racing barchettas of the 1950s.

The "virtual windshield" and other design details

The missing windscreen was not a show-car gimmick. At about 50 km/h (31 mph) a deflector rises in front of the cockpit and, together with small winglets in the front bumper, it channels the air over the occupants' heads. The old 1cars review called this zone a dead area that protects the driver and passenger from the oncoming wind. Pininfarina and Newmax made matching helmets for the two occupants.

The body was made entirely of carbon fibre instead of the aluminium panels of the donor car. Pininfarina said this saved about 10 % of the weight of the body. The old 1cars review noted that shorter doors made the open body stiffer than the donor's. The high rear spoiler rises above the seat backs and also protects the occupants.

The 458 V8 behind the seats

The concept kept the running gear of the Ferrari 458 Spider: a 4.5-litre naturally aspirated V8 (F136 family) mounted behind the cabin, a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and rear-wheel drive. In concept form it had the 458 Spider's 419 kW (570 PS), with 0–100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of about 320 km/h.

The six production cars received the more powerful engine of the 458 Speciale A, rated at 445 kW (605 PS, 597 hp). Contemporary reports gave 0–100 km/h in about 3.0 seconds.

Size and weight of the barchetta

The figures below are for the concept, which shares its wheelbase with the 458.

By our calculation the concept carried about 3.05 kg per kW, close to the figure of the lighter limited-series Ferraris of its time. You can check other cars with the 1cars power-to-weight calculator. There is no luggage space worth mentioning, and the cabin is built around two seats.

From concept to the six-car Ferrari Sergio

The concept was so well received that Ferrari agreed to a short production run. In December 2014, at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari showed the road version, called the Ferrari Sergio. It had a reworked design rather than a copy of the concept: it gained a windscreen and a removable hard top, and it shared its interior, tail lights, indicators and mirrors with the 458 Spider.

All six cars were sold to customers chosen by Ferrari, who configured them through the Tailor Made programme in Maranello. The first went to a dealer group in the United Arab Emirates. The old 1cars text reported that its owner received the car on the day of the premiere in Abu Dhabi. Each car reportedly cost around three million US dollars, but Ferrari never published a price.

Running costs and ownership

The Sergio is a collector's car, not a daily driver. Its mechanicals are standard 458 parts, so engine, gearbox and brake servicing can be done by any Ferrari dealer. The carbon body panels, glass and trim, however, are unique and very hard to replace. Fuel use is in line with the 458 Spider it is based on. Insurance and storage costs are those of a multi-million-euro collector car.

Crash testing and cockpit equipment

As a coachbuilt run of six cars, the Sergio was never crash-tested by Euro NCAP or any other body, and the 458 family was not rated by those programmes either. It uses the 458 Spider's aluminium chassis, airbags, carbon-ceramic brakes and electronic stability systems. The cabin carries the donor car's steering wheel with integrated controls, sports seats and the Manettino drive-mode switch.

How it compares with other open Ferraris

The Sergio sits between the regular open Ferraris and the ultra-rare specials. Its closest relatives are other limited Maranello models of the same decade.

Compared with the Speciale A it is based on, the Sergio adds rarity and coachwork rather than speed. The later Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 of 2018 took the windscreen-free barchetta idea into a bigger series. More of the fastest Italian cars are listed in the most powerful supercars guide.