Why LaFerrari was designed in Maranello

Love it or hate it, the design of LaFerrari comes completely from one place— Maranello. The most powerful street-legal Ferrari ever made was styled entirely in-house, which means that for the first time in recent memory, a Ferrari wasn't crafted by Pininfarina.

An Italian legend in its own right, the design house has created nearly 200 Ferraris dating to the early 1950s. Make no mistake, for decades Ferrari was a racing team that made niche supercars, and the romantic appearance of its road-going models was largely conceived by Pininfarina.

So, why the change?

Well, Pininfarina did design a version of LaFerrari, but actually lost out to Ferrari's in-house squad. It was a fair fight, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa stressed, but his company went with its own design based on what it believed were technical and aerodynamic advantages.

“The best proposal was coming from the Ferrari design proposal,” Felisa told Autoweek.

Pininfarina chairman Paolo Pininfarina took the decision gracefully, noting La-Ferrari's 950-hp hybrid powertrain required a purposeful layout for its performance. “The design of the Ferrari is definitely driven by function,” he said.

Still, Ferrari and Pininfarina insist their long-running relationship remains strong. Pininfarina did pick up an award at the Geneva motor show for the design of the F12 Berlinetta, which is barely more than a year old. And the styling house attracted its own share of attention for the Sergio concept, which was revealed as a tribute to longtime chairman Sergio Pininfarina, who died last July at age 85 after presiding over the firm for four decades.

Clearly, it's a fresh era for both companies, which remain inextricably linked. But the question remains: how closely?

This article originally appeared in the April 1, 2013 issue of Autoweek. Click here to get Autoweek delivered to your door biweekly.

The Ferrari designed LaFerrari signals the future styling direction for the company.

By Greg Migliore