PININFARINA BATTISTA

THE CULMINATION OF 90 YEARS IN THE AUTO BUSINESS THIS PININFARINA WILL BE AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA

LET’S GET the trick question out of the way first: what is the most powerful car ever to have come out of Italy? Take a bow if you answered the Pininfarina Battista – the sleek object you see on these pages. And yes, it’s electric.

For the petrol-heads who are now shaking their scones and muttering something along the lines of the whole world going mad, you probably have a point. However the basic stats are compelling, starting with the four electric motors punting this thing at the horizon, boasting a combined 1400kW and a truly staggering claim of 2300Nm of torque.

Perhaps the big news is that you will be able to buy one locally, as Melbourne-based Lorbek Luxury Cars has just announced it will be handling the marque in Australia and New Zealand.

What really strikes us about this car, aside from the staggering stats and undeniably beautiful lines is that it’s by Pininfarina.

Actually, the correct title is Autobili Pininfarina and the ambitious hypercar is named after founder Battista.

The marque’s handle has long been attached to brands as diverse as Cadillac, Alfa-Romeo, Volvo and of course Ferrari. Along the way it built whole bodies and gathered a remarkable portfolio. Its greatest ever design? That’s up for debate, but we’ll happily nominate the Ferrari Testarossa as a front-runner.

This fresh enterprise is the result of an injection of capital from Mahindra back in 2015. The company retains its design roots in Turin while the car maker is based in Munich. Its first whole car is seen by Paolo Pininfarina as the realisation of a long-held family ambition, and particularly that of founder Battista, who started the company in 1930.

First shown in Geneva early last year, the hypercar has a production target of 150 units. See lorbek.com.au