Pininfarina Battista: 5 things you should know about this EV hypercar

Battista Pininfarina (née Batista Farina) was one of the most talented designers in the history of the automobile, having founded a carrozzeria that became famous for penning curvaceous and desirable Italian vehicles for brands like Maserati, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Fiat. The coachbuilding company became nearly synonymous with Ferrari where, for more than 65 years, it basically acted as an in-house design and engineering team.

The Battista is an all-electric, all-wheel-drive hypercar that produces 1,900 hp from its four motors, enough to allegedly rocket the $2.5 million vehicle from 0 to 60 in less than two seconds on the way to a top speed of 250 mph. We walked around the vehicle with Pininfarina design director Luca Borgagno. This is what we discovered:

It is a dream come true

"Batista always wanted this because, in the end, it is a dream to have something with your name on top. It is my dream maybe one day, too. But it is also the dream of the Manhindra Group, that invested in Pininfarina. It is difficult to do something more of a dream than what is in front of us."

It is about purity

"Pininfarina Design is all about purity of shape and not being too complicated. Everything here is here for a reason. Simplicity is the general feeling for the brand. We always say in the design studio, what you don't need, you take off; and what you include, you do it the best that you can."

It hides its functionality

"We have a big power-actuated rear wing that is needed for downforce, but when it is down, it is seamlessly integrated into the body so you don't see it. We didn't want to have any big intakes on the side, so all of the intakes here are hidden in gaps in the bodywork. There are air channels hidden in the lower part behind the front and rear wings that help channel air through the radiators needed to cool the batteries, and release heat from the motors and cool the batteries. We don't need as much cooling as in an internal combustion engine, so we can let the bodywork do the work."

It draws on Pininfarina's heritage (of designing for other brands)

"We've been doing a big investigation of cars in our past, looking for a thru-line in our design. And one of the things we came up with was purity and timelessness. One of the representatives of this was the 1936 Lancia Asturia. This is a car that won a Concours as soon as it came out of the factory, and then, 80 years later, it won the Best of Show award at the Pebble Beach Concours. This is what we strive for in our design. A clarity of execution, where you can draw one simple line that defines the car."

There will be more Pininfarina cars soon (and they will be fancy)

"We definitely have other ideas in mind for more vehicles. But we will never do a mainstream or mass market car. They will always be rare objects. This is why we needed to start at the very top. We needed to maximize the brand expression of luxury and sustainability. We will definitely do other products. I can't tell you what they are going to be. But I can tell you that they will come soon. We are talking months and not years."

Related Video: