It will hopefully become clearer by the end of my essay, but I would like to introduce an idea.
In elementary mathematics, integer division yields a
result composed of two numbers, a quotient and a remainder.
When the remainder is isolated, it is referred to as the modulus,
having a "modulo" relationship with the dividend and divisor.
It is a remnant, the discarded, and a residue generating dead end.
In Italian, modulo loosely translates as a paper form or template.
So what exactly are we to do with Pininfarina's Modulo?
Beware, it is a road to nowhere!
Automobile design should be fluid, not rigid, nor exact.
Unlike the certitude of a mathematical modulo, floating-point decimals introduce
chance, possibility of failure, and potential drama.
Therein lies beauty and a more human scale.
Please allow me to quote directly from Bruno Alfieri's 1990 treasure
Pininfarina: Catalogue Raisonné 1930-1990 Volume II, page 422:
"Pininfarina has built a single-volume prototype
of a special little saloon on the floor pan of the
Ferrari 512 S characterized by two overlapping
body shells, separated by a rectilinear indentation
on the waistline. In actual fact, this is a research
study which aims at abandoning the traditional
styling language of which Pininfarina themselves
are masters. Access to the passenger compartment
is obtained by sliding the entire coupole, including
the windscreen, on special guides. This study
ends a period of research on pure form."
Pininfarina's final definition of "ideal automotive aerodynamics" in 1976
yielded a multi-passenger vehicular shape with a Cd of 0.161
The path towards aerodynamic perfection mirrors that which developed the quartz wristwatch.
Today's renaissance of the mechanical wristwatch may signify hope for the contemporary automobile.