Italy’s Pininfarina, one of the most famous names in car design, announced last night a capital increase worth more than its current market capitalisation as it struggles to survive a disastrous 2007.

Pininfarina, which is based outside Turin and has designed sportscars and other models for a large number of the world’s manufacturers, said it had made a net loss of €115m ($176m) in 2007 after losses of €22m in 2006.