Page 1 of 2 Next >> Pininfarina stunned the world at the January 1969 Brussels Motor Show with a striking wedge-shaped one-off based on an Abarth sports racer. Along with several other contemporaries, it heralded the dawn of a new era; the luscious curves of the 1950s and 1960s were to be replaced by simpler and sharper lines.
Known as the Scorpione in reference to Abarth's famous scorpion badge, the show car's most distinguishing cue was the straight line that ran from the nose all the way to the roof, doing away with the traditional three-box principle of nose, cockpit and tail. Responsible for the design was Filippo Sapino, who had joined Pininfarina just a few years earlier from Ghia.
The scorpion also formed an inspiration for the design itself as with some imagination, some of the main sections of the scorpion's body can be distinguished; the intakes on the edges of the nose mimic the claws, while the front fenders form the arms and the large windshield the animal's body. Easiest to recognise is the scorpion's tail formed by the trumpet exhaust coming out of the rear-mounted Abarth engine.
With no room in the singular design for traditional headlights, the Scorpione is equipped with central unit, consisting of six separate lights that can be rotated up when needed. There is also no accommodation for conventional doors, instead the entire windshield can be lifted up to provide ample access to the cockpit. Showing its racing roots, the cabin is very minimalistic with the simple dashboard dominated by a large rev-counter. Page 1 of 2 Next >>
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2000 Pininfarina Scorpione
Pininfarina stunned the world at the January 1969 Brussels Motor Show with a striking wedge-shaped one-off based on an Abarth sports racer. Along with several other contemporaries, it heralded the dawn of a new era; the luscious curves of the 1950s and 1960s were to be replaced by simpler and sharper lines.