Automobili Pininfarina’s Battista begins testing ahead of Monterey Car Week debut

Development and testing for the Pininfarina Battista are on in full swing as Automobili Pininfarina prepares to showcase the all-electric hypercar to prospective clients at the Monterey Car Week on August 16, this year. The development is ongoing under the guidance of Nick Heidfeld and Rene Wollmann.

The Battista is being tested in the wind tunnel with a redesigned front end, and according to the company, the hypercar is meeting all expectations that were set. Under the joint expertise of Nick Heidfeld and Rene Wollman, the Battista is being tuned and tested in simulators and the wind-tunnel to best harness its 1874bhp and 2300Nm of torque to make the hypercar extremely usable in the real world.

Only 50 Battistas are estimated to be available in Europe, 50 in North America and 50 in the Middle East and Asian markets. This along with the hefty 2 million euro price tag (which converts to Rs 15.4 crore without Indian taxes and duties) make it a fairly exclusive car. As to whether the car will ever make it to India, only time can tell.

Speaking about how the hypercar is shaping out, Rene Wollmann, the Project Director said:  “The aerodynamic performance we witnessed with Battista in the Pininfarina wind tunnel was almost identical to our expectations following CFD modeling. Fine tuning the aero package using CFD, wind tunnel and dynamic simulation means we can confidently predict a significant increase in the potential range of Battista versus our original prediction of 450kms on a single charge. This is fantastic news for future Battista owners.”

Nick Heidfeld, ex-Formula 1 and Formula E driver who is also development driver for the Battista project said, “Driving an early version of Battista in the simulator was an amazing experience. The preparation, set-up and execution of the first runs of a brand-new hyper car with unprecedented levels of performance were excellent; comparable to any first simulation sessions I ran in my motorsport career. Most impressive was how well the car handled. But of course, as I expected, the sheer acceleration is totally mind-blowing and incomparable with any car I have experienced, from road or track.”

The company at the Monterey Car Week aims to explain to its existing and potential customers what they can expect from it in the future.

Words by Karan Ramgopal