Pininfarina Luxury Hyper BEV Starts Testing

Paul Myles

TU-Editor

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12th February 2020

Car design house icon brand Automobili Pininfarina is celebrating the 90th anniversary year of Pininfarina SpA, with the start of real-world testing of its near 1,900bhp BEV luxury hypercar.

The Battista’s technical development schedule is headed by the company’s sportscar director Rene Wollmann, formerly of Mercedes-AMG. In the driving seat of Battista prototype vehicles will be former Formula One and Formula E legend Nick Heidfeld, now a development driver and ambassador for the Italian marque.

Teams of engineers will now undertake a development program of testing, evaluation and development over the coming months, in the sort of climates and environments where the Battista will be marketed. Tests culminate with the first hand-crafted cars being handed over to clients at the end of 2020 in Cambiano, Italy.

Rene Wollmann commented: “The mule vehicles running the chassis and powertrain concepts for Battista have already achieved 80% of their performance capability without issue. This means that our EV performance is already equal to the most powerful combustion engine-powered hypercar currently in the world.

“In the next six months we will progress to delivering a thrilling pure-electric hypercar that seamlessly produces 1,900 hp and 2,300 Nm (1,700ft-lbs) of torque across a range of driving modes to suit varying environments. Our clients cannot wait to experience this performance alongside Nick Heidfeld.”

— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_