Automobili Pininfarina’s Battista electric luxury hypercar is about to go on show to the UK general public for the first time, in the main courtyard of the British Library in London, from June 7 to 9, following its UK unveiling to the select audience of the Goodwood Members’ Meeting earlier this year. The 1900hp zero-emissions Battista is set to become the most powerful car ever produced in Italy, and this is a rare and advance opportunity to witness the beautiful machine up close, as Automobili Pininfarina will hand-build no more than 150 examples of the car and production is not due to begin in earnest until late 2020. The Battista is to be the first of a range of all-electric cars from Automobili Pininfarina, the world’s newest luxury car brand, and takes the name of Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina, founder of the famous Italian styling house Pininfarina.
Pininfarina S.p.A. was commissioned by Automobili Pininfarina to design and build the Battista to a challenging design brief from Luca Borgogno. His challenge, according to Automobili Pininfarina, was for the car to be “aesthetically beautiful, unprecedented in its performance and pure in its output, with classic supercar proportions, acceleration faster than a Formula 1 car, and a 300-mile electric range on a single charge”. Heady stuff.
And as if to further underline that the project lacks little in ambition, Pininfarina has linked itself and the car to the extraordinary figure of Leonardo da Vinci. Automobili Pininfarina is the presenting partner for the British Library’s ‘A Mind in Motion’ exhibition, which marks the 500th anniversary of da Vinci’s death and opens on June 7, running until September 8 this year. The exhibition brings together highlights from three of da Vinci’s Codex notebooks for the first time ever in the UK, and these reveal the concepts and innovations behind da Vinci’s ideas and engineering solutions, often linked to his fascination with motion. And this is where the link to the car comes in, as Pininfarina explains that core to da Vinci’s inventions were the integration of form and function, and the blurring of lines between art, design and engineering, which are principles it has sought to achieve for itself in its almost 90-year history.
“Italy is defined by design classics, whether that is Leonardo’s work, Palladio’s Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Pininfarina’s Cisitalia 202 or Mattè-Trucco’s car factory in Lingotto,” said Borgogno. “The common theme between them is that they presented modern, elegant, innovative functions and design in perfect harmony for the first time. The Battista design brief is a breathtaking expression of this tradition. We are proud to be a part of the ‘A Mind in Motion’ exhibition because we are proud of what Italian design has brought to the world. Leonardo was a true Italian genius, the first person to combine the disciplines of art, design and engineering–and from Leonardo in the 16th Century to Pininfarina in 2019, these principles remain strong.”
It is anticipated further that only 50 of the 150 Battistas will be available for the European market and it is now available to order from HR Owen and Rybrook. Potential customers are invited to apply to own a Battista now using an online service within the company’s website.
Images courtesy of Automobili Pininfarina
