Pininfarina Outlines Luxury Hypercar Strategy
Automotive icon design house’s carmaker subsidiary, Automobili Pininfarina, has outlined its BEV luxury hypercar strategy.
At the same time, it revealed the powertrain platform ahead of the Pura Vision design concept expected to debut next year. The carmaker announced its production ambition to follow the launch of its electric Battista hypercar will see a series of investments and initiatives to cement the brand in the BEV marketplace. Pininfarina says the Battista hypercar development program is well advanced, with dynamic simulation and wind tunnel testing complete. Prototype vehicles will be in testing throughout winter, ahead of client test drives in spring 2020.
At a private briefing ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show, CEO Michael Perschke, chief design officer Luca Borgogno said next year’s debut draws on the brand’s heritage. He provided insights into the Battista development program along with insights into how the company’s second and third models will follow the car defining the target market for “luxury utility vehicles”.
He said: “Visionary Italian design is the past and the future and as we head towards celebrating Pininfarina’s 90th anniversary in 2020, we are inventing new markets and new client experiences, and we want to underscore our commitment to Italy through production of pure-electric vehicles there.
“Our strategic collaboration with Bosch and Benteler unlocks the opportunity for growth, through development of high performance EV architecture to be deployed by Automobili Pininfarina and potentially other OEM clients. The launch of Battista heralded the arrival of our exciting new brand, and these are the plans that give us a strong platform for future success.”
Perschke presented the PURA Vision design concept to media, confirming that the full-scale version will make its world debut in North America in the second half of 2020.
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_
