Pininfarina Signs E-Powertrain Deal for PFO Hypercar
Iconic Italian auto design house Automobili Pininfarina is focusing its future efforts on electrified powertrains with a development agreement signed with Rimac.
The automotive electric specialist will provide battery and drivetrain expertise, software and hardware for use in Pininfarina’s luxury hypercars of the future.
With 10 years of electric powertrain expertise, Rimac now supplies electric power solutions to a number of global sports and supercar brands.
The agreement is timely in the development of Pininafarini’s hypercar, the PFO expected to reach the market in 2020. Another strand to this project’s readiness is the hiring of auto industry expertise to its management team including Christian Jung as chief technology officer and Peter Tutzer as PF0 senior technical adviser.
Having risen through the ranks of BMW Group in Germany and the USA, and Porsche, Jung moves from California where he has been based for about one and a half years, most recently as Faraday Future’s senior director of electrical engineering and platform strategy. Before that he was Porsche’s director for e-mobility systems design and a leading part of the initial project lead team for the Mission E and additional electrification projects.
Tutzer has more than 35 years’ experience in the automotive industry beginning his career at Porsche, where he was ultimately appointed as chief engineer for the company’s race car program. Peter then joined Pagani where he was responsible for the chassis, vehicle layout and packaging of the Pagani Zonda before joining Bugatti where he played an integral role in the engineering and development of the Bugatti Veyron. Responsible for the complete car layout, packaging and integration of chassis and aerodynamics, he also managed the complete car test and development program. Tutzer has also held the role of technical director at Lotus Cars and, most recently, held the position of chief technical officer at Thunder Power EV.
Rimac founder, Mate Rimac said: “Combining Rimac values – technology, innovation and performance with the heritage, history and Italian design of Automobili Pininfarina makes a perfect synergy for an exciting new hypercar – the PF0. This partnership is a big milestone for both companies and we are looking forward to bringing this incredible machine to life together.”
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_
