Pininfarina Coupe Concept

New Designers 19 May 2011

The Pininfarina Coupe is a study of a luxury, sleek concept car inspired by the design of Italian sportscars such as the Fiat Coupé. It was created by concept designer Peter Norris.

The Pininfarina Coupe Concept is a personal project by concept designer Peter Norris, who has been working in the videogames and entertainment industry for 10 years.

The car is a front-engined, rear wheel drive luxury sports car that aims at capturing the essence of the Italian thoroughbred: “clean, unfussy, elegant and fast.”

The design is characterized by a sleek profile, with an ultra-low roofline. The influence of the Italian styling can be seen in the treatment of the car’s shoulders which – in combination with the large wheels – contribute to the overall dynamic stance.

The rear-end features C-shaped LED tail-lights that give this concept a truly distinctive, sleek appearance.

The project started as “a reboot of the Fiat Coupe”, with the goal of creating a sportscar inspired by the lines of Ferraris and by the Fiat Coupe.

As Peter explains, “much of my work is focused strongly on science fiction and the distant future, but with this project I wanted to create an elegant and unfussy design with classic lines that could be on the road today.”

Speaking about the main inspiration for the concept, he adds: “I used to own a Fiat Coupe 16v Turbo, and whilst it frequently broke down and cost me a fortune in repair bills, I just didn’t have the heart to get rid of it. I still turn my head every time one drives past me.”

“The Pininfarina styling inside as much as outside just oozes with Italian flair and really was, and still is different to anything else on the road. Some people have referred to it as a “baby Ferrari”.

“So I began sketching out ideas for a Fiat Coupe for 2012.

“After roughing out the body in 3d I changed my mind and decided that I wanted to build something that was more of a luxury rather than a budget sports car and wondered what a car designed by Pininfarina under its own badge might look like, and so it evolved from there.”

About the Designer

Peter Norris is a 35 year-old designer from Rochester in Kent, UK. He studied transport design at Coventry University and then entered the entertainment industry.

Among his experiences are a seven years-period at Nottingham-based Free Radical Design, where he created virtual vehicles for videogames such as Timesplitters 2 and Star Wars: Battlefront III.

He has also worked at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (PlayStation) in London and at mobile games company Ideaworks 3d, where he was involved in the creation of several of driving games.

He is currently planning to expand his portfolio to the film/television industry.