Automobili Pininfarina aims to offer what it describes as ‘the ultimate expression of the world’s first luxury pure-electric hyper GT’. Known as the Battista Anniversario, it celebrates 90 years since Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina started the Pininfarina coachbuilder and design house.

Laying claim to being the most powerful sportscar ever to be designed and built in Italy, 5 Battista Anniversario cars (there will be another 150 Battista hypercars made) will be hand-crafted in Turin, where Pininfarina has established its design centre and headquarters. Each is priced from 2.6 million euros (about RM12.4 million) and will be delivered to customers by the end of this year. Of course, with Italy now having a crisis and lockdown, production will be affected.

“For 90 years, the Pininfarina name has been at the forefront of automotive design and performance, and the Battista perfectly encapsulates these values. This ultimate expression of Battista, the Anniversario, is the distillation of everything that the brand has stood for in the past and which we now strive for in the future, creating a new pinnacle of desirability for sustainable and luxurious electric cars,” said Michael Perschke, CEO of Automobili Pininfarina.

“My grandfather always had the vision that one day, there would be a stand-alone range of Pininfarina-branded cars. The Battista Anniversario, named in his honour to mark 90 years of the carrozzeria that he started, is a glorious way to link our past with the future of motoring,” added Paolo Pininfarina, Chairman of Pininfarina SpA.

The Battista Anniversario delivers an added level of dynamic ability and a bespoke heritage-inspired anniversary livery. Each of the five cars is finished in a combination of three signature colours: Bianco Sestriere, the never-seen-before Grigio Antonelliano, and Automobili Pininfarina’s signature Iconica Blu.

The Battista Anniversario will have one of the most complex paint finishes in the world, with the process of creating akin to a great artist completing an Old Master painting. Skilled artisans will take several weeks to paint each car, building up the finish layer-by-layer and colour-by-colour – all by hand. The body is disassembled and reassembled three times so pinstripes in the three separate colours can be hand-painted directly onto the body.

The Battista Anniversario is also equipped with the ‘Furiosa’ package, comprising a revised carbonfibre front splitter, side blades and rear diffuser. Exclusively on the Anniversario, these parts are finished in a two-tone combination of exposed signature carbonfibre and carbonfibre tinted in Iconica Blu with pin stripes in Bianco Sestriere.

Besides the exclusive livery, a bespoke rear wing, rear aero fins and other bespoke details are unique to the Battista Anniversario. The aerodynamic enhancements enabled by the Furiosa exterior changes deliver increased downforce and greater stability at higher cornering speeds and a more dynamic balance to the car.

Four electric motors generating 1,900 bhp/2,300 Nm torque, apportioned to each wheel by the most advanced torque vectoring system, will take the car to a claimed top speed of 350 km/h. And faster than a current Formula 1 car in the sub-two second 0-100 km/h sprint, the Battista can also accelerate from 0 to 300 km/h in less than 12 seconds. This level of performance is unachievable today in any road-legal sportscar with an internal combustion engine.

“I have piloted the quickest road and race cars in the world and I’ve never driven anything as powerful as the Battista,” said Nick Heidfeld, Test and Development Driver at Automobili Pininfarina. “The Battista is faster than many race cars, but it is not a pure racing machine. Drivability in all situations is its primary focus. We will now concentrate our time testing and developing Battista to deliver a car that’s at the forefront of technological possibilities and innovation.”