What is Automobili Pininfarina and where is the Battista program heading ?
Electric hypercars were a dominant theme of the 2019 Geneva auto show, and among them the Pininfarina Battista made quite an impression. Astonishing figures played no small part (1’900 hp, 2’300 Nm of torque), but figures are nothing without styling, and the Battista is stunningly beautiful.
So Pininfarina, the famous design house that signed timeless designs such as the Ferrari F355 and Ferrari 550 is getting in the business of selling electric hypercars ? Not quite. Automobili Pininfarina is a company incorporated in Germany and financed by the Mahindra & Mahindra Group, an indian conglomerate with a broad portfolio of businesses. A more visible presence of Mahindra to europeans is its sponsorship of a Formula E team.
Automobili Pininfarina is a customer of Pininfarina Spa, the italian design and engineering company. It has licensed its name and retained the italian company for design and manufacturing services, but their ownership structure is completely separate.
The head office of Automobili Pininfarina has around 50 employees, but the engineering team is co-located in Cambiano with the Pininfarina Spa employees that are contracted to work on the Battista program. We spoke with Michael Peschke, Chairman & CEO of Automobili Pininfarina, and Dan Cornell, Chief Brand Officer. This interview tool place before the presentation of the Lotus Evija, another entrant in the electric hypercar category.
Question: What will be the span of production of the Battista ?
Answer: production will start end of 2020 with the first customer deliveries, then will continue through 2023 at a rate of about 50 cars per year. The manufacturing site is the Pininfarina Spa factory in Cambiano near Torino, Italy.
Q: What is your rationale for the production volume of 150 cars ?
A: we said that the maximum production quantity will be 150 cars, but it may actually be lower than that, possibly between 100 and 125 cars. Collectors are not interested in cars produced in quantities larger than 200.
Q: has the price now been fixed ? The Dubai presentation press release mentioned 2 million US$. The Greentech festival announcement mentioned 2 million €.
A: pricing has been set at 1.98 million € pre-tax. On a price/performance ratio basis, the Battista should be more expensive than a Bugatti Chiron.
Q: what are you main target markets in Europe ?
A: mainly Germany and Switzerland. Interest from the UK has cooled down a bit, in part due to Brexit. We also have interest from Norway, Sweden, Monaco, Paris, Belgium, two orders from Italy. Demand from Europe has been fair, but the US and the Middle East exceed our expectations.
Q: you have announced Schmohl AG in Zürich as distributor, will they be the sole distributor for Switzerland ?
A: no, Schmohl will focus on the Zürich area and we will appoint a partner either in Geneva or Lausanne. We have 1 or 2 applications under review.
Q: what is the extent of your collaboration with Rimac ?
A: The battery pack of the Rimac C_Two is very similar. We are also going jointly through the electric motor selection and it is likely we will select the same. The inverters are being co-developed but the battery management and torque vectoring systems are different. Rimac is going for a more track oriented definition while our focus is closed to a GT.
Q: you have announced that aerodynamics testing yielded better-than-expected results. Will you be revising the 450 km WLTP projected range ?
A: yes, we got good results, in particular from the air curtains. The drag coefficient is lower by 0.03 to 0.04 than our estimates. This should result in a WLTP range above 500 km.
Q: do the target customers care about range ?
A: There is a minimum set of Key Performance Indicators that need to be achieved in order for prospects to pay attention to the project.
Q: you recruited Nick Heidfeld as Development Driver. What’s his brief ? What should the Battista feel like or not feel like ?
A: Nick joined the project because we have a common vision. The Battista needs to be very driveable. We want our customers to drive it to work or on a week-end, to enjoy taking it out more than they expected. It needs to be fun to drive. There will be 4 driving modes with distinct settings, one of which designed to wow them on a track while remaining safe. But we are clear: the Battista is a GT, not a track tool.
Q: what are the upcoming milestones in the program ?
A: right now, we are going through the wind tunnel, simulator and crash testing phases. The dynamic presentation is planned in spring 2020, after the Geneva auto show.
Picture gallery – Dubai, Rome & soufflerie
Afficher la galerie de photosPicture gallery – Torino
Afficher la galerie de photosPicture gallery – Geneva 2019
Afficher la galerie de photosLinks
Forum topic – Hybrid & electric road tests – GT & Supercars road tests – further reading:
