Battista propels into electric hypercar sector with 1900 hp

When former Formula One driver Nick Heidfeld floors the accelerator in a pre-production unit of the Automobili Pininfarina Battista, its 1900 hp takes him from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in less than 2 seconds and to a top speed of more than 350 kph (218 mph).

However, that isn’t what impresses him most about Italy’s first full-electric hypercar.

“It is incredible how predictable and easy the Battista is to drive,” the German racecar driver told me while piloting one of the cars's five pre-series units on a circuit in Pavia, northern Italy, last month.

Heidfeld, who had been part of the team developing the car’s ride and handling characteristics since the project was started more than three years ago, said that the company set – and reached -- very high targets he set.

“When I drive a normal car, I really understand how special the Battista is,” he said.  

The Battista, which carries the first name of Pininfarina’s founder Battista “Pinin” Farina, is the first product from Automobili Pininfarina, a Munich-based fully owned subsidiary of Indian industrial conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra.

Mahindra also holds a controlling stake in Pininfarina SpA, the Turin-based design and engineering specialist that is licensing the Pininfarina name to Automobili Pininfarina.

Pininfarina SpA will build 150 units of the Battista, which in Europe has a pre-tax price of 1.98 million euros ($2.24 million). In Italy, the car will start at 2.42 million euros with taxes included.

Deliveries are set to start toward the end of the first quarter of 2022. The initial cadence will be one delivery every other week. By 2023, that will rise to a vehicle a week.

Automobili Pininfarina CEO Per Svantesson said that the Battista’s 2022 production run is sold out, but he declined to say how many units of the hypercar are still available.

He said the pandemic stalled the company’s commercial plans, delaying initial test drives with potential clients until as late as August. The feedback from those test drives has been encouraging.

“We got overwhelming reaction from customers on the Battista’s driving dynamics, particularly for its five driving modes,” said Svantesson, who spent most of his 37 years in the automotive business at Volvo Cars before joining Automobili Pininfarina.

Rimac underpinnings

The Battista is a rebodied Revera hypercar made by Croatia’s Rimac Automobili.

Automobili Pininfarina receives a rolling chassis from Rimac and then spends 10 weeks hand-building each Battista.

More than 50 percent of the hypercar’s parts are specific, from the suspensions to the doors to its controls and software, Automobili Pininfarina Chief Product and Engineering Officer Paolo Dellacha said.

The software, which is still in the early phase of development, can be updated over the air, Dellacha said, because the Battista will always be connected.

Five driving modes

Drivers can choose from five driving modes using a tactile-milled rotary controller. They are: "Calma" (Italian for "Calm"), "Pura" ("Pure"), "Energica" ("Energetic"), "Furiosa" ("Furious"), "Carattere" ("Character").

Each mode delivers a different level of power. "Calma" provides 21 percent of the total output, which is still nearly 400 hp.

The two most extreme modes are "Energica," which pumps out 71 percent of the total power, about 1350 hp, while the top-performing "Furiosa" mode unleashes the car’s entire 1900 hp.

The differences in each mode are evident to an average driver. For instance, in "Furiosa" mode you are pushed deep into your seat with each acceleration.

The car’s intelligent four-wheel torque vectoring makes cornering safe and controlled but the Battista’s electronic stability control still needs software tweaks to improve the car’s performance on straightaways.

Given that in "Furiosa" mode each wheel gets an average of 475 hp and a massive 590 newton meters of torque (total torque stands at 2360 newton meters) even a small imperfection on the pavement can cause a wheel to spin when going straight.

To properly brake a car weighting 2200 kg, the Battista comes standard with Brembo CCMR carbon-ceramic 390 mm discs with six-piston calipers front and rear.

Automobili Pininfarina said it expects the Battista to deliver a fully charged range of 500 km under WLTP standards because of its 120-kilowatt-hour battery pack. The T-shaped liquid-cooled battery pack is mounted centrally behind the front seats to ensure a low center of gravity.

The company declined to say who is supplying the Battista's battery cells.

The Battista can be charge to 80 percent from 20 percent in in 25 minutes using an up to 250 kilowatt DC fast charger.

150 very different units

Dellacha said no two units of the Battista will look alike because of the high level of personalization that will be offered. For instance, the Battista has 128 million interior combinations alone. Each client is invited to work directly with the design and engineering team to create something unique.

Once a client takes delivery, the retail partner – 28 at the moment -- also has access to Automobili Pininfarina’s so-called “flying doctor.”

This expert will fly anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice to provide support to retail partners and customers if a problem can’t be solved via an over-the-air software update or using the dealer’s in-house tools.  

Currently, 26 electronic modules can be updated while the car is parked or moving using Wi-Fi or the embedded e-SIM. The system also includes smart diagnostics technology to continuously monitor for  and to address potential problems before they arise.

Four of the Battista’s five pre-production units will be used for crash tests to obtain homologation for Europe and for the U.S.