The Modulo 512 S is now depicted on a postal stamp
The Italian minister of Economic Development issued a stamp dedicated to Pininfarina, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the firm with the representation of their Modulo 512 S
With a circulation of 400,000 examples, the stamp was penned by Pininfarina and has a face value of 1,10 euros. It’s been revealed today for the first time in the headquarters of the company in Cambiano (near Turin) with a ceremony broadcast world wide via live streaming. The subject? “The car of tomorrow”, the Ferrari 512 S based Modulo which stunned the world’s automotive scene in 1970 and still looks futuristic today. “We called it Modulo (meaning Modulus) because it was reminiscent of a small spaceship. At the end of the Sixties it was the time of the moon landing and of the first space travels, with the science research moving ahead in large steps”, the president Paolo Pininfarina explained. The trend of car design was influenced by this changing world and “without knowing it, with the Modulo we revolutionised it”, he went on.
A postcard from the future. Presented at the Geneva Automobile Salon as a static sculpure, the Modulo, which is now turning 50, is a prototype designed to be extreme. “The intention with it was to get out of traditional style language”, asserted the president during the presentation of the stamp. For the boldness of its shape, the Ferrari 512 S chassis based creation was selected to be a symbol of the Italian high coachbuilding at the Osaka Expo in 1970 and was later exhibited in Mexico City as an ambassador of the Italian style. The Modulo is only 93 cm high. With the low, descending bonnet, the lowered roof and the wedge shape, it became an icon of its era. The bodywork is built with two overlap shells separated with a groove at the waistline. The front end, the cabin and bonnet are grouped in a single swept curve. To let driver and passenger enter the vehicle, the entire canopy slides forward along guides, windshield included. The interior is quite minimalist, with two elongated anatomic seats which are very enveloping.
Born to be shocking. The number of awards accumulated by the Modulo over the years totalled 22, including the prestigious “Award for design excellence”, for “the pure shape research in its intended geometry”. “Nevertheless, in the Pininfarina team not many people were convinced by the concept of the vehicle: it was too ahead of its time and appeared disrespectful to most of us”, the descendant of the family revealed. “Our carrozzeria was used to making the world infatuated with smooth shapes and fluid lines. When Paolo Martin, who was the head of design department, introduced the the polystyrene model to my father and my uncle Renzo Carli, their first reaction was one of astonishment. The invention was so obscenely new that they kept it under a cover for months before starting to believe in it”. In 2014 the Modulo was bought by Jim Glickenhaus, an American collector who wanted it not to be a museum artifact but a living automobile. Therefore he started a daring restoration challenge, which led to the first dynamic presentation of the prototype at the Pebble Beach Concours of Elegance in 2018. After that event, thanks to its owner, the single example was also on stage one year later at the Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance and it’s back to Italy today showing itself inside and outside on the “Pininfarina 90” stamp.
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