First, before we look into the Baptist , which we were able to see at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, it is necessary to clarify the current situation of Pininfarina, the historic Italian bodyshop and design house. It is currently owned by the Indian Mahindra, which acquired it mostly after the difficulties of the Italians at the beginning of this century.
This defined a “radical” strategy for such a precious name, dividing it in two, creating in the process a new car brand, independent of the design studio. And so Automobili Pininfarina was born.
Its debut model couldn't be a better business card: a hyper-sport, but “very” 18th century. XXI, which is like to say, 100% electric.
Battista, pure Pininfarina
The machine itself is purely Pininfarina in its design. The visual aggressiveness, more and more extreme, that we can find in so many other supersports was left out — the Battista is more “calm”, with cleaner and more elegant volumes and surfaces than is usual in this type of vehicle.It seeks to be a visual expression of a new type of high-performance machine, one that uses electrons rather than hydrocarbons.
The origin of the name
The name they chose, Battista, couldn't be more evocative, as it is the name of the founder of the original carrozzeria, Battista "Pinin" Farina, who founded Pininfarina in 1930, 89 years ago.
To build its first machine, Automobili Pininfarina surrounded itself with the best in the industry, forming an automotive dream team. In his team we found members who were integral part in the development of machines such as the Bugatti Veyron and Chiron, Ferrari Sergio, Lamborghini Urus, McLaren P1, Mercedes-AMG Project One, Pagani Zonda and Porsche Mission E.
The most powerful Italian ever
The electrical “heart” came from the experts at Rimac (part of which was purchased by Porsche), themselves present at the Geneva Motor Show with the C_Two , its electric hypersports, and looking at the numbers of the Pininfarina Battista, it's not hard to see the connection between the two, with almost identical numbers.
The Pininfarina Battista was announced with an impressive 1900 hp and 2300 Nm of torque, making it the most powerful Italian road car ever!
Numbers achieved through the use of four electric motors, ensuring four-wheel drive, causing the Battista to take less than 12s to reach the… 300 km/h — are less than 2s from 0 to 100 km/h interesting to report at this level? —, and reach a maximum speed of 350 km/h.
To stop this electrifying missile, the Battista is fitted with massive 390 mm carbon-ceramic brake discs both at the rear and at the front.
The energy to power 1900 hp comes from a 120 kWh battery pack, which should allow a maximum autonomy of 450 km — maybe it doesn't do that much after a few 12s starts to reach 300 km/h… The battery pack is placed in a “T” structure, placed in the center of the car and behind the seats.
Silent? Not the Baptist…
Trams are known for their silence, but Automobili Pininfarina says the Battista will have its own audio signature, not just the mandatory one — electric cars have to be heard by pedestrians when traveling at less than 50 km/h — as a more befitting of a hypersportsman.
Intriguingly, Automobili Pininfarina says that it will not amplify the sound artificially, instead using elements such as the electric motors themselves, the air flow, the climate control system and even the resonance of the carbon fiber monocoque that it serves as a base.
battista is just the beginning
The Pininfarina Battista will be a very exclusive model. The brand announces that no more than 150 units will be built, with an estimated price of around two million euros , with the first units starting to be delivered in 2020.
Battista is just the beginning. Three more models are already in the plans, among which two crossover rivals of machines like the Urus or Bentayga, less exclusive or costly than the hypersports Battista. Automobili Pininfarina's ambition is to grow and sell between 8000 and 10 thousand cars a year.