Miguel Sánchez
Many of the prototypes made during the sixties and seventies were echoed in cars that, in truth, were neither massive nor popular. Perhaps one of the best known cases is that of the five Alfa 33 Stradale chassis donated by the brand to three Italian bodybuilders. On them, six fundamental designs were made for the transition to the wedge design of supercars. Creations among which the Carabo by Marcelo Gandini for Bertone or the Iguana by Giorgetto Giugiaro stand out. However, the one with the greatest purity of lines is the Cuneo. Second body on the same chassis, by Pininfarina designer Paolo Martin.
A designer who, without being one of the top tier, has had a fundamental impact on many of the cars we see today. And it is that, from some BMW 328 to the popular Toyota Prius the Wunibald Kamm's investigations on the aerodynamic shape of a car have had an impact for decades. Impact on whose career highlights the work of Paolo Martin at Pininfarina during the second half of the sixties. Moment in which he created the 1967 BMC Aerodinamica Pininfarina with Leonardo Fioravanti.
BMC Aerodynamics 1967 
The BMC is the clear predecessor of the GS and the CX 
BMW 328 Kammback. One of the first samples of this design
A Kammback body study that turns out to be the clearest precedent for the Citroën GS and CX. But also a decisive influence for the Rover 3500 and the superb Maserati-powered SM. All this makes the BMC Aerodinamica one of the most influential prototypes of the time, which shares the limelight with two other Paolo Martin creations exploring this vision of aerodynamics. We are talking about the FIAT-Dino Parigi and Ginevra. Both are fully operational, possibly being the most specific versions of the V6 as a result of the collaboration between Maranello and the Agnelli family.
FIAT DINO PARIGI. CREATED ON AN APPROVAL OPERATION
Manufactured from 1966 to 1972 through two evolutions, the FIAT-Dino can be interpreted as a collaboration between both brands with the simple aim of creating a fantastic car. In fact, Ferrari and FIAT were so close that in 1969 the Agnelli conglomerate absorbed the Maranello house. However, this idealistic vision has no place in the genesis of a car that, in reality, was made because of Ferrari's eagerness to compete in F2. A category in which the FIA changed the homologation regulations for the 1967 season.
FIAT-Dino Coupé designed by Bertone
Engines with more than six cylinders would not be admitted in it, and they would also have to come from a street car of which at least half a thousand units had been manufactured in a year. Just the point where Ferrari punctured, since its production rate prevented it from reaching those figures. Thus, the Scuderia decided to ask FIAT for help. This, with its industrial production rates, could mass production of a car that would equip the two-liter V6 for the F2 heir to the designs of Vittorio Jano and Dino Ferrari. A plan that was not only taken into account by FIAT, but was done very well. Something that is observed by analyzing the resulting FIAT-Dinos.
Spider version designed by Pininfarina
All of them series vehicles with their own personality beyond having been created to get out of the way with these approvals. In fact, It was seven years in the market with more than 7.000 units sold throughout its two generations. The first with a two-liter engine, and the second increasing the displacement to 2. Both with very different designs for the Coupé and Spider versions. The first signed by Bertone with a somewhat more conservative design. But the second with a much more daring touch, signed by Pininfarina with clear inspiration from Aldo Brovarone's Dino prototype from 4.
Prototype for the coupe presented by Pininfarina
THE FIAT-DINO PROTOTYPES FOR AERODYNAMIC STUDIES
In addition to those required for the Spider version, Pininfarina made at least three more prototypes on the FIAT-Dino. The first was a Coupé proposal. Something that fell on deaf ears, because even for the second generation FIAT preferred to continue with the formula of one designer per version relying on Bertone the coupe. However, the really interesting ones are the other two. Both creations of Paolo Martín, who was immersed in aerodynamic studies that culminated in his 1970 Ferrari Module. A creation made as an exercise in style based on a 512S, far removed from the practical applications that the FIAT-Dino Parigi and Ginevra did have.
Engaged in applying the Kammback designs, Paolo Martin took the FIAT-Dino as a base to give it a body that looks like a Shooting Break. But why? What is the Kammback design? The result of research in the XNUMXs by the German designer Wunibald Kamm, this approach states that the most efficient design to penetrate the air is a half-tear cut abruptly at the rear. Thus, the turbulences that generate drag coefficient are reduced. An interesting solution but one that poses a problem. Where to cut?
Ginevra, from 1968
Something that obsessed Paolo Martin, who used everything he learned in the FIAT-Dino Parigi to improve the BMC Aerodinamica to which Citroën owes so much. In fact, the Parigi - presented at the 1967 Paris Motor Show - had an evolution presented the following year at the Geneva Motor Show. The FIAT-Dino Ginevre, with a somewhat more stylized design in the fall of its rear. The last specimen in this series of studies carried out by Paolo Martin to perfect those aerodynamic theories that you now continue to see in many models. The curious connection between the Citroën saloons of the seventies and eighties with the V6s produced by FIAT and Ferrari.
Photographs: Pininfarina / BMW Classic / FIAT
