<< Prev Page 2 of 2 While certainly draped over an exotic canvas, the design of the body of the original 365 P show car was remarkably understated. The nose incorporated many familiar Ferrari/Pininfarina cues like the covered headlights and the egg-crate grill. The exterior proportions of the design, credited by to Aldo Brovarone and Sergio Pininfarina himself, did give clear hints of what lurked beneath. At the rear, the 365 P featured the same buttresses that were found on the 1965 Dino show car and would become an iconic feature of the production models.
What really set the 365 P apart was its three-seater configuration with the driver placed in the middle, slightly forward of the passengers. This was made possible due to the lack of a transmission tunnel, which gave the car a flat floor. The central driving position also added a real single seater (Formula 1) feel to the car. To get in and out of the car more easily, the driver seat swivelled to the left, away from the gearshift lever. The unusual interior was clearly visible through the enormous glass roof fitted to the car.
Finished in white, and dubbed the 'Tre Posti' for obvious reasons, the spectacular new show car made its debut at the 1966 Paris Auto Salon. It was subsequently shown at several more events around the world before being sold to its first owner in the United States through Luigi Chinetti. A second example quickly followed and featured a slightly different tail with added wings. This made its debut at the Turin Motor Show and was soon after delivered to Fiat supremo Gianni Agnelli.
Despite Pininfarina's best efforts, Ferrari did not budge and the world had to wait until the early 1970s for the company's first V12-powered, mid-engined sports car. The pair of 365 P Tre Postis have survived and remain as evocative could-have-beens. They certainly influenced designers for some time to come and will most definitely provided Gordon Murray food for thought when he laid out the three-seater McLaren F1. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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365 P Pininfarina Tre Posti Speciale
While certainly draped over an exotic canvas, the design of the body of the original 365 P show car was remarkably understated. The nose incorporated many familiar Ferrari/Pininfarina cues like the covered headlights and the egg-crate grill. The exterior proportions of the design, credited by to Aldo Brovarone and Sergio Pininfarina himself, did give clear hints of what lurked beneath. At the rear, the 365 P featured the same buttresses that were found on the 1965 Dino show car and would become an iconic feature of the production models.