Mahindra-owned Pininfarina Battista hypercar in final stages of dynamic development
With deliveries of the Automobili Pininfarina Battista still slated for later this year, despite the delays due to the pandemic, the 1,900PS all-electric hypercar from the Mahindra-owned EV only brand inches ever closer to its final dynamic package, having undergone high speed testing only a few months prior. Now, ex-F1 driver Nick Heidfeld, who joined the Battista project in 2019 as a developmental driver, has taken the hypercar around the Porsche-owned Nardò Technical Centre in Italy to help fine tune the chassis and electronics setup.
While the Battista has its carbon fibre chassis and powertrain sourced from the Croatian Rimac C_Two (a company Porsche has a major stake in), everything else on the Battista, including its dynamics and interiors, are completely bespoke. That means the two cars will share the four in-wheel electric motors, single-speed gearbox, and the headline figures, including unreal 1,900PS/2,300Nm outputs, a sub-2s run from 0-100kmph, a sub-12s run from 0-300kmph and a top speed of 350kmph. Notably, the Battista is already the most powerful road-legal car ever designed and built in Italy. Only 150 examples will be built, by hand no less, with a base price starting from $1.7 million.
With the prototype only at 80 per cent of its full power potential, Heidfeld says, "What really surprised me was how natural the Battista feels on the track. We are creating a hyper GT to be enjoyed at all speeds, yet here in Nardò the cornering control and speed we achieved were exceptional. Minimal traction control and torque vectoring are active at this stage of prototype development, yet there is so much grip to exploit." Heidfeld is said to be helping develop two tyre choices for the Battista, with the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R being looked at for track use. Though, with the Battista clearly being developed as a hyper GT vehicle rather than an all-electric track toy, a more road-friendly setup is also being looked at.
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