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2005 Pininfarina Enjoy Preview

A Pininfarina Concept Going into Production?

It isnt everyday that a radical concept car gets put into production. The car Im referring to isnt a near-production prototype either, such as Renaults Modus² which became the Renault Modus or Benzs Vision CLS that is now the CLS-Class, but is more of an exotic show car.

Even more impressive than putting a concept car into production is the fact that the well established design house and automaker thats behind it has never built and sold its own car under the Pininfarina nameplate before, rather having designed, engineered and built vehicles for client automakers, most notably Ferrari, up to this point. No doubt Battista "Pinin" Farina, who founded the company in 1930, would be proud of his namesakes, Sergio and then Andrea Pininfarinas

Although the Pininfarina design house has penned some of the most beautiful looking cars ever made, amazingly its never released one under its own name until now. (Photo: Pininfarina)

achievements.

"A year has passed since we presented what was essentially a fun concept in Geneva, which turned out to be a great success with critics and public alike," commented Andrea Pininfarina, President and CEO of the Pininfarina Group, "and the Enjoy went on to win the Most Fun car award assigned by the prestigious American magazine AutoWeek, as well as earning a special mention for the design originality of

After the concept received such glowing acclaim last year, Pininfarina made the decision to produce a limited run of the fun looking, but oddly named Enjoy. (Photo: Pininfarina)

the project in the contest for the Most Beautiful Car in the World. This is what led us to decide on a limited production run, which was also an opportunity to take advantage of our extended business areas resulting from the acquisition of Matra. It is a unique opportunity to present a new model manufactured by Pininfarina itself."

Why wait until 2005 for such a massive change of direction? Pininfarina has a couple of reasons for coming to market now, the first being a commemoration of the companys

To commemorate its 75th anniversary, Pininfarina will produce seventy-five Enjoys throughout 2005. (Photo: Pininfarina)

75th anniversary. The second reason is a new relationship with Matra, but more on that in a minute.

The car of choice is the Enjoy; a two-seat luxury roadster that was first displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in 2003 and was later shown at this years Louis Vuitton motor show in Britain in production trim. Seventy-five Enjoys will be produced throughout 2005, the actual year of Pininfarinas 75th anniversary.

Almost exactly like the concept car that preceded it, the Enjoy is a futuristic cross between a racing car and a road-going sports car. Its styling is pure and simple, but it purposefully lacks a real windshield

The Enjoy is a futuristic cross between a racing car and a road-going sports car. (Photo: Pininfarina)

and a roof. Because the Enjoy is intended both as a road-going car and a track vehicle, Pininfarina has also included removable fenders. The front and wheel body bulges can easily be removed to transform the Enjoy into an open-wheeled, open-aired vehicle, something quite similar to the oddball Lotus 340R. While it may not be as track-biased as the Lotus, the Pininfarina encompasses design flair that only an Italian carrozzeria could, including such details as its unique pair of vertical wings leading back from behind the roll bar across the rear decklid, plus the shark-like front end.

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