He started working in his brother Giovanni's body shop at the age of 12, and it was there that his interest in cars was born.

He stayed at Giovanni's Stabilimenti Farina for decades, learning bodywork and beginning to design his own cars.

He formed Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 to focus on the design and construction of new car bodies, and quickly gained prominence.

His work for Ferrari, starting in 1952, would become his most famous though much of it was managed by his son, Sergio, who ran the firm until shortly before his death, on 3 July 2012.

The last design he contributed to was the 1600 Duetto for Alfa Romeo[1] with Aldo Brovarone, which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966.