By Gary S. Vasilash

OEMs today are hoping like they’ve never hoped before that with all of the money that they’re not making on electric vehicles (yes, yes, there are the exceptions like Tesla and BYD) that they’ll be able to more than make up it for by selling services, digital services, not mechanical ones.

The plan is that people will forego Google Pay or Apple Pay and use the interface in the vehicle.

While this may not be as great a leap as thinking that people will forego Waze or iTunes, it is still a bit of a stretch.

Legendary design consultancy Pininfarina has decided to increase its potential revenues through the creation of “Pininfarina Classiche.”

This is something for those who have a classic car and are interested in obtaining as much provenance as they can.

The Pininfarina archive has been digitized and the company has been working with the Historical Studies department at the University of Turin.

The archive includes production and serial numbers for >700,000 cars that is supplemented by >20,000 related documents, sketches, photos, and related items.

Most of the information is related to vehicles produced between the 1950s and 1990s.

For now, those who own a:

• Alfa Romeo Spider (Duetto) from 1966 to 1993
• Fiat 124 Spider from 1966 to 1982
• Pininfarina Spider Europa and Volumex from 1982 to 1985

can get in touch with Pininfarina Classiche about their specific vehicle.

As for what Pininfarina will get, the fees are:

• €400.00 VAT included for cars produced before 1980
• €300.00 VAT included for those from 1980 onwards

Although this will not be a continuing stream of revenue as the OEMs with the digital dreams expect, odds are that collectors are going to be far more willing and interesting to get the documentation from the company.