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The Pininfarina X caused a sensation at its premiere in Turin in 1960 - the car was the most streamlined car ever built.
Nevertheless, it remained a one-off.
Photo: Pininfarina
Four wheels - almost all cars have.
Four wheels arranged in a diamond shape - that's surprising.
The Pininfarina X has even more to offer than the strange arrangement with one wheel in front, one in the back and the other two - opposite each other - on the sides.
Because in 1960 the bodywork company Pininfarina (at that time still “Carrozzeria Pinin Farina”) put a car body over this chassis, which is still unique today.
And a masterpiece of aerodynamics.
The Pininfarina X was shown publicly for the first time at the Turin Motor Show in 1960. The car was called "The Turin Bomb", as SPIEGEL reported at the time.
The British magazine »Autocar«, however, judged that the car was »a step backwards into the future«.
The pointed front section, the dome-like, extensively glazed driver's cab, the fins at the rear and of course the bizarre positioning of the wheels - the audience was delighted, the experts were amazed.
The car was the result of serious research and was by no means designed as a promotional joke.
The basic concept of the diamond-shaped chassis with a front wheel for the steering, a rear wheel for the drive and two side wheels for stability came from Alberto Morelli, professor at the Polytechnic University of Turin.
He wanted to develop the ideal configuration for a teardrop-shaped automobile, because this shape promised the best aerodynamics.
Form saves fuel
The plan worked.
The drag coefficient of the Pininfarina X was 0.23 (some sources even speak of 0.20).
In any case, a drag coefficient that is still impressive today.
For comparison: The electric sedan Mercedes EQS is currently the most streamlined production car with a drag coefficient of 0.20.
The benefits of the optimized shape were impressively demonstrated on the Pininfarina X: In the rear of the one-off was a standard 1.1-liter four-cylinder from Fiat with an output of 43 hp.
However, the engine in the study only consumed five liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers, while in the Fiat model it consumed between eight and ten liters.
In addition, the sleek study achieved a top speed of 150 km / h, while the Fiat model was barely more than 120 km / h.
So there were good arguments for such an unusual vehicle concept.
And with them, company boss Battista Pinin Farina himself took the wheel of the study, and drove it to various car manufacturers to convince them of a series production of the futuristic and fantastic four-seater.
Without success.
The Pininfarina X was exhibited again at the Brussels Motor Show in 1961, after which it stood for more than 45 years in the Pininfarina company museum in Moncalieri.
In 2007 the US entrepreneur and car collector John Rosatti bought the fascinating vehicle.
In 2015 it appeared at an auction at the Barrett Jackson auction house and changed hands for $ 330,000.
The car is currently on display in the Louwman Museum in The Hague.
