A revolution in automotive performance, design and technical collaboration is revealed with the Pininfarina Battista, the world’s first luxury electric hyper performance GT, at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Delivering on a long-held Pininfarina family dream and a new target of zero emissions with extreme power, the Battista is the first solely Pininfarina-badged car and delivers unprecedented performance. The trio of beautiful Battista design models presented as part of the hypercar’s World Premiere in Geneva represent a new pinnacle of desirability for electric cars, stylishly resolving the paradox of beauty and performance in a pure, elegant and timeless Italian design.
When it arrives in 2020, the Battista will be the most powerful car ever designed and built in Italy and it will deliver a level of performance that is unachievable today in any road-legal sports car featuring internal combustion engine technology. Faster than a current Formula 1 race car in its 0 – 62 mph sub-two second sprint, and with 1,900 hp and 2,300 Nm torque on tap, the Battista will combine extreme engineering and technology in a zero-emissions package.
The year 2020 is also the 90th anniversary of the legendary Pininfarina design house, which has taken the design brief for the Battista and produced a classic Pininfarina: an elegant form that seamlessly integrates the car’s innovative engineering solutions to deliver unprecedented performance. It is the same design principle of form and function in harmony as seen in classic Pininfarina cars reaching back to the Cisitalia 202 of 1947 and through more than 100 Ferraris, the most recent of which was launched this decade.
Named after Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina, who founded the Carrozzeria Pininfarina coachbuilding company in 1930, the all-electric hyper GT will be designed and hand-built in very limited numbers at Pininfarina under the watchful eye of Paolo Pininfarina, Battista’s grandson and current Pininfarina Chairman. The Battista, appropriately enough, will be the most powerful road-legal car ever designed and produced in Italy.
A carbon fiber monocoque chassis and visually stunning carbon fiber body provide the foundation and visual definition for the extreme levels of technology and functional, elegant driver-focused design solutions at the heart of the hypercar. The result will be a staggering performance for a road car: 186 mph in less than 12 seconds and the ability to achieve a top speed of up to 217 mph, all with a potential zero-emissions range of up to 279 miles and an extreme focus on drivability.
The weight distribution of the T-shaped 120 kWh battery pack is configured to optimize the Battista’s dynamic potential, with four motors independently distributing torque and power to each wheel, delivering all the benefits of modern torque vectoring. Cooling circuits and systems are based around five radiators.
Whilst the car’s electronic brain serves up a thrilling new experience in dynamic driving, its braking system offers the back-up to that performance. Massive, carbon-ceramic 6-piston brakes (390 mm at the front and 390 mm at the rear) provide fade-free deceleration and hugely effective brake regeneration to the battery will be engineered into the system. The active rear wing features an air brake function.
The Battista’s suspension is tuned specifically to deliver a thrilling, engaging and yet comfortable dynamic experience. The driver will be able to electronically adjust the dynamic experience through multiple modes tuned to a range of driving scenarios and will also be able to tailor the noise the 1,900 hp car makes – the Battista’s onboard sound programme will focus on using vehicle hardware to generate acoustic entertainment, rather than generate artificial sounds.
The three Battista specifications being presented at Geneva reflect the potential for personalization of the 150 cars that will be produced, highlighted by the Iconica by Automobili Pininfarina design pack on a Blu Iconica Battista. There is an ambition and expectation that each car will be unique, which will also underline the elegance and design purity of the car acting as a blank canvas upon which owners can paint their own masterpieces, with advice from the masters-of-design in Cambiano.
A Grigio Luserna satin grey Battista features accents in satin Blu Iconica and anodized aluminum detailing. With its unique wheel design and duo-tone black and tan interior, this specification presents a strong, well-defined and dynamic expression of Pininfarina design while still remaining elegant.
The Blu Iconica Battista represents Automobili Pininfarina’s signature brand color with an interpretation of Pininfarina blue. It is a deep electric blue, reflecting the technological innovation within, and is made up of multiple layers of paint which results in a deep luxurious lustre. Aesthetically the car is more dramatic with modifications to the bonnet, visually connecting it to the windscreen via carbon fiber blades. The front wing above the front LED light strip is visually divided into two reflecting the car’s rear wing graphic and unifying the overall design.
The third Battista is a pure pearlescent white called Bianco Sestriere. Small color details hark back to historical Pininfarina cars such as the legendary Ferrari Modulo concept, a classic example of how the Italian Carrozzeria produces understated, elegant and visually striking cars. One such design detail adds a red aluminum line along the flanks between the sill and door, immediately ahead of the front wheel and running along the back from the rear wheels. This adds a ‘light touch’ of design, adding to the overall elegance of proportions. Red calipers and red anodized lower aluminum trims, and a darker anodized aluminum strip over the window are the limits of decoration making this Battista the most purely representative of Pininfarina’s styling excellence.
The three Battistas, featuring bespoke colors defined by Automobili Pininfarina, clearly present Automobili Pininfarina’s solutions for ultra-high-performance and beautiful style. Each car’s exterior design also shows how to elegantly integrate active and passive aerodynamics and performance functionality.
On the inside, there is an ergonomic precision bordering on obsession to the car’s layout to ensure it is accessible to every driver regardless of their experience – the layout of controls completely focused on maximizing drivability at 18 mph or 186 mph. But this focus on ergonomics is not at the expense of style. The Battista’s interior becomes a truly special place to be for either the driver or passenger.
All aluminum parts are finished in brushed anodized aluminum, with many of these parts featuring special knurling for added grip. There is a luxurious level of quilting on the seats, door inserts, centre console and knee pads. A leather insert at the twelve o’clock position on the steering wheel, and a number of dials in the cockpit are finished in anodized Blu Iconica, whilst optional carbon fibre components and a ‘Battista’ plate at the bottom of the steering wheel are also presented. Between the seats on the three show cars is a special plate featuring a Battista signature and a dedication to the Battista’s Geneva world premiere.