It is in Piedmont, Italy, that Pininfarina began production of 150 examples of its electric “hyper GT”, the Battista. A production by hand, and a customization pushed to the extreme.
We have to go back to 2018 to find the first trace of the Battista, the first car signed Automobili Pininfarina as a manufacturer. And it was on the shores of Lake Geneva, at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, that the electric hypercar was presented to the public for the first time. A “hypercar”, or rather a “hyper GT” as the famous Italian coachbuilder likes to present it, embarking on the great adventure of automobile production. Production which also began in July 2022 in Cambiano, Italy, in the Piedmont region, where the very first copy of the “production” Battista left the workshops.
Up to 28 weeks per car
The 2,300 m2 workshops set up to assemble the most powerful Italian hypercar of the moment welcome a team of craftsmen, who are divided into fourteen workshops, combining the most modern production machines, and much more artisanal processes.
The standard paint cycle alone takes three to four weeks to apply the different layers of one of the 28 colors inspired by the Piedmont region. The doors in elytron as for them, are assembled over two days.
As Pininfarina explains in his press release, a total of 10 weeks are needed for a Battista to see the light of day. We are talking about a “basic” Battista, because for the five customers who have already got their hands on the “Anniversario” version with hand painting, then another 18 weeks must be added! Ten craftsmen are needed to assemble each Battista, representing no less than 1250 hours of manual work. And again, the more exclusive anniversary model bumps the time up to 1,340 hours.
At the end of the process, each Pininfarina Battista is checked for 24 hours on a lift, before leaving for road tests. Once everything is checked, we can then remove the protective film for a final check of the bodywork.
14 quintillion outdoor suits
The customer experience Pininfarina wants for its Battista requires extreme personalization. The goal is obviously that there are no two identical. And with 13.9 quintillion (billion trillion!) exterior combinations (body color, brake caliper color, wheel finish…) and 128 million possible interior configurations, the chance that the Battista in your neighbor is the same as yours is reduced to nothing.
The Battista next to the Bespoke space in Automobili Pininfarina’s Atelier Battista in Cambiano.
Atelier Battista’s configuration suite allows customers to take inspiration from the design team to create the Battista of their dreams.
Customers can choose from a full range of customization options at the Battista workshop in Cambiano, including interior and exterior color combinations, materials and specifications.
Pininfarina accompanies its customers in the process of personalizing their car, which notably involves the possibility of coming to the lounge set up specifically within the assembly workshops to touch the materials, discover and define the colours… When you pay at least 2.6 million eurosit is the least of things.
And certainly, customers won’t be left in the wild with their Battista once delivered either: they will benefit from after-sales assistance according to three programs, which can range from maintenance for five to ten years, up to a aftermarket body painted to original configuration at time of production.
100 km/h in 2 seconds
Let’s end with a reminder: the one concerning the mechanics and performance of the Pininfarina Battista. And they are impressive. Its 120 kWh battery powers four electric motors, one in each wheel (two 250 kW and 280 Nm at the front, two 450 kW and 900 Nm at the rear). The power of 1,900 horsepower and the torque of 2,340 Nm allow the Battista to reach 100 km/h, standing start, in less than two seconds (1.8 seconds), and 350 km/h at top speed. As for autonomy, it is estimated at 500 km on the WLTP cycle.
Figures that are very close to its all-designated rival: the Rimac Nevera. 1,914 horsepower, 2,360 Nm of torque, 0 to 100 km / h in 1.97 seconds and 412 km / h peak, on paper, the Croatian electric hypercar retains a very slight advantage. All that remains is to decide between them on the track. And with the first customer deliveries of the Battista this summer, there may not be a long wait, especially since deliveries of the Rimac Nevara have just started! For comparison, the Tesla Model S Plaid announces the 0 to 100 km in 2.1 seconds with its 1,020 horsepower distributed over its three motors. But it is a family sedan with a large trunk and much cheaper!
A Tesla Model S Plaid has just reached the speed of 348 km / h, thanks to a simple unclamping of the maximum speed operated by the Canadian company Ingenext.
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