2020 Pininfarina Battista – Nick Heidfeld to lead final developments of 1,900 hp, 2,300 Nm electric hypercar

Automobili Pininfarina is sparing no time in developing the Battista, dubbed as the world’s first fully electric luxury hypercar. In fact, the company has appointed former Formula One driver Nick Heidfeld as its development driver and ambassador, who will also be driving the Battista prototypes.

Overseeing the hypercar’s technical development is the director of Automobili Pininfarina Sportscar, Rene Wollmann, formerly of Mercedes-AMG. He said: “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. And in the simulation and wind tunnel testing phase, by fine tuning the aero packaging, we’ve already seen a significant increase in the potential range of Battista versus our original prediction,” he added.

“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 torque across a range of driving modes to suit varying environments. Our clients cannot wait to experience this performance alongside Nick Heidfeld.”

To quickly jog your memory, those numbers make the Battista twice as powerful as a 2019 Formula One car, enabling it to sprint from 0-100 km/h in under two seconds. That’s also quicker than an F1 car, mind you. Apparently, it will do the 0-300 km/h sprint in under 12 seconds before achieving a top speed of at least 350 km/h, while the theoretical top speed is said to be 402 km/h.

Pininfarina will now accelerate its development programme by exhaustively testing and evaluating the car’s performance in the coming months. Said tests will also be conducted in the climates and environments that the Battista will be driven in, before the first batch of hand-built units get delivered to customers at the end of 2020 in Cambiano, Italy.

Company design boss Luca Borgogno has also created a unique livery for the Battista prototypes. He said “we’ve been humbled by the overwhelmingly positive response to the aesthetics of Battista since it was first revealed. So we have chosen to create a playful and interesting prototype livery design that is clearly inspired by the electrifying performance that lies beneath its beautiful exterior.”

“Yet our ambition is always to further delight our future clients. To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the famous Pininfarina design house, the team at Automobili Pininfarina is now preparing the ultimate expression of Battista hypercar design, ready for its world premiere at next month’s Geneva International Motor Show,” he noted.

Now, production of the Battista will only be limited to 150 units, each of which is hand built and can be customised according to the owners’ tastes. For those wondering, the Battista is the realisation of a long-held family dream, stemming from the founding days of the company. Battista Farina was its founder.

GALLERY: Pininfarina Battista at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show

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