Pininfarina is an Italian car design firm that was founded in 1930 by Battista “Pinin” Farina, the uncle of Nino Farina. Based in Turin, the company has also had a history of designing watches.
Lotus Senna Fan Club
There have been two versions of a Pininfarina Lotus Senna Swiss Fan Club watch, one in silver (ref. 7020) and black (ref. 7020N). Both feature a Lotus logo, Ayrton Senna‘s logo, and “FAN CLUB SUISSE” on a yellow dial, and a three o’clock date window with the Pininfarina logo on the case back.
Online listings have referenced Orfina as the manufacturer. The brand is known to have started a collaboration with Pininfarina in 1981, with print ads appearing as late as 1983.
Senna raced with Lotus during the 1985 and 1986 seasons. While details surrounding these releases are not well documented, they likely coincided with the Brazilian driver’s time with the team.
Related Pages
References
https://watchlibrary.org/en/details/ES-EUROPE_138_1983_002_103
https://www.vws.fr/fr/automobile/101-pininfarina-lotus-ayrton-senna-by-orfina-silver-ref-7020-vers-1985.html
https://www.vws.fr/gb/motor-car/44-pininfarina-lotus-ayrton-senna-by-orfina-black-ref-7020n-vers-1985.html
https://www.automotivpress.fr/vente-de-montres-liees-a-lautomobile-a-bordeaux-le-4-juin-2023/
https://www.city-bijoux.ch/raritaeten-gegen-moneten/fundgrube-fuer-armbanduhren/pinifarina-tiffany-and-co-die-etwas-anderen-designer-uhren/
https://www.time2tell.com/en/history-of-the-brands/510-the-true-history-of-orfina-watches.html