458 Italia

Make
Ferrari
Segment
Coupe

Dramatic and lust-worthy as it is, the new LaFerrari hypercar isn't the only new debut at the Geneva Motor Show this year wearing the Prancing Horse badge. Across the hall, Pininfarina unveiled its own Ferrari concept called the Sergio. Named after the company's late chairman Sergio Pininfarina, who himself penned a veritable wealth of Ferraris in his lifetime, the design study takes the form of an open-top barchetta in the grandest of style. It's based on the 458 Italia and adopts its 570hp 4.5-liter V8, but in an entirely different form.

Shaped in Pininfarina's wind tunnel, the Sergio cuts an aggressive profile dominated by elegant curves and forward-tilted roll bar, but has no windshield or roof. Instead it has a pair of racing helmets and a shape formed not only to generate down-force and cut through the air, but also to direct airflow over the occupants' heads. Design director Fabio Filippini said his team was "motivated by the spirit of Pininfarina's best sports cars, Ferraris of the '60s and '70s designed under the leadership of Sergio Pininfarina." Longer, lower and wider than a Mazda MX-5, the Sergio can hit 62 in 3.4 seconds and top out at 199 neck-straining miles per hour.

The Sergio," adds Paolo Pininfarina, "is meant to celebrate the involvement and the passion of my father in the development of the Pininfarina-Ferrari relationship." Although built as a concept, Pininfarina could build the Sergio in extremely limited numbers.