Automobili Pininfarina has reiterated that its first standalone model - an all-electric hypercar to be launched at the Geneva motor show next year - will be the quickest and most powerful car to herald from Italy. You know, the country that makes Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Paganis. To emphasise that it means business, the newly launched car firm has christened the model with the most sacred of names: Battista.
No, not after Sergio Batista the Argentinean midfielder of 39 caps, but after Battista Farina, the legendary automotive designer who founded the firm in 1930. To Pininfarina, this decision has as much significance as Ferrari naming one of its supercars Enzo. It certainly ought to do the snowballing level of expectation no harm - if that was ever really a problem for a 1,925hp hypercar that's claimed to be capable of a sub-two seconds 0-60mph dash and is expected to break the 250mph barrier.
No more than 150 examples will be available from late 2020, and its manufacturer conservatively estimates that the unit price is likely to be between $2m and $2.5m. The US, Europe and Asia (plus the Middle East) will each receive an allocation of 50 cars.
As PH found out during a recent visit to Pininfarina's headquarters, the firm has eight decades of experience to call upon, along with the vision and leadership of Battista's grandson - and current company boss - Paolo Pininfarina. Enough, you'd hope, to ensure that its first-born product lives up to the family legacy...
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