Pininfarina Battista: Breathtakingly Fast

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 05:39

The car manufacturer Pininfarina has ambitious goals. In the future, the Italians want to bring five electric cars onto the market. The Battista starts off.

There have been several promising announcements of high-performance electric cars with absurd four-digit horsepower numbers. Faraday Future and Lucid Motors are just two of them. Their future is more than uncertain, if not already sealed.

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Automobili Pininfarina is said to be doing better. A big name with big goals. For almost 90 years, the Italian design studio and body shop has designed some grandiose cars for well-known manufacturers such as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, but also for Peugeot. Now Pininfarina wants to put its own cars on the wheels - exclusively electric. "Purism, beauty and electric drive go well together", says Pininfarina's chief designer Luca Borgogno.

In two seconds to 100 km

The Italians begin their entry into the modern automotive world at the top, with the "Battista", named after the company founder from 1930, Battista "Pinin" Farina. A crazy 1900 hp are supposed to catapult the super sports car to 100 km / h in under two seconds.

The top is 412 km / h. At the same time, Pininfarina promises a range of 500 kilometers. This is made possible by a battery with a capacity of 120 kWh. The technical equipment such as drive and power electronics are supplied by the Croatian specialist Rimac and Bosch. Ready-to-drive prototypes of the Battista are currently being tested. The final production model is to be shown in Geneva in March. The Battista will then be handcrafted in the Italian studio in Cambiano from the end of 2020. 150 units are planned. The price is ambitious: around two million euros.

In the high-priced segment, Pininfarina expects the best opportunities and, according to its own statements, wants to become "one of the world's leading companies for luxury vehicles". According to Michael Perschke, it will of course not stay with Battista. The CEO of Automobili Pininfarina envisions a family of up to five models with different body shapes. The topics of sustainability and zero emissions should play an important role right from the start.

“Old school would be the wrong approach,” says Perschke, “with a combustion engine we would just be a brand of the past.” In addition, the electric drive significantly reduces development costs compared to a conventional gasoline engine. There should even be a positive cash flow by the end of 2024. The CEO has a production output "somewhere between Bentley and Lamborghini" in mind. Production takes place in Italy, for traditional reasons. A suitable site is currently being sought in the vicinity of Turin. The capacity of the plant should be around 20,000 units per year.

An electric SUV follows

The Battista will initially be followed by an electric SUV in the price segment above 200,000 euros in 2021. A year later they even want to found a new segment. The entry-level model for around 150,000 euros is to be a mixture of “Porsche Panamera and Lamborghini Urus”, a crossover with either four or five seats. A study on this, called Pura Vision, showed Pininfarina to a small group of journalists in Los Angeles. The design of the vehicle looks very clean and reduced, the 24-inch wheels are striking. With its wood, the interior is very reminiscent of the construction of luxury boats. The Pura Vision is to be shown to the public in Pebble Beach at the Concours d'Elegance in August 2020. Perschke names the start of production at the end of 2022.

There is still no disclosure of what other models are planned. Based on the creative past of Pininfarina, a typical Italian Gran Turismo with a stylish combination of tradition, luxury and sustainability would be conceivable. (SP-X)