It’s the automotive startup you probably haven’t heard much about, but its production plans and dealer network are shaping up to be launched in a few months.
Automobili Pininfarina announced two additions to its small, but growing, dealer network Tuesday. The company’s newest locations: Newport Beach Automotive Group in Orange County, California and Lake Forest Sportscars in Chicago. The new locations add to the seven dealers who have already signed on to sell the new hypercar.
North American dealers include Miller Motorcars, Greenwich, Connecticut; The Collection, Coral Gables, Florida; Automobili Pininfarina Denver, Highlands Ranch, Colorado; Luxury Cars Los Gatos, Los Gatos, California; O’Gara Coach, Beverly Hills, California; Pfaff Auto, Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada and Grand Touring Automobiles Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
“With our new partner location in Chicago, we have established an important brand presence between the US east and west coasts,” said Per Svantesson, chief executive officer, Automobili Pininfarina, in a statement.
“We are excited for clients to experience our brand across our network as we prepare to begin deliveries of the incredible Battista hyper-GT this year.”
With the latest retailers, Automobili Pininfarina will have nine dealers in North America to sell its new Battista pure-electric hyper GT. Production of the car is expected to begin in the spring. The company has already established Automobili Pininfarina Americas to handle its business in North America.
Its first production model, the Automobili Pininfarina Battista, debuted during Monterey Car week in 2021. Only 150 will be produced.
What they’re selling
Having styled styled 64 Ferraris since 1952, it’s no surprise the Pininfarina Battista is a carbon fiber-bodied hyper car, albeit one built with modified version of Rimac’s powertrain and carbon-fiber structure. Weighing in 4,400 pounds, its 6,960 lithium-ion cells are good for 120 kWh.
That’s enough to generate 1,900 horsepower and 1,696 pound-feet of torque, according to the company from four electric motors — one for each wheel — along with full torque vectoring, electronic stability control and a software differential. The car will have a 310-mile range and a 217-mph top speed. If you’re in a hurry, you’ll be happy to know that reaching 60 mph takes less than 1.8 seconds.
When it comes time to recharge, you’ll be happy to know that it has 180kW DC fast-charging capability, allowing it to be recharged from 20% to 80% in 25 minutes.
A long history in the automobile business
Pininfarina’s own history starts in 1930, when Battista Farina, the youngest of 11 children and nicknamed Pinin, which means “the youngest/smallest” in Piedmontese, spoken in northwestern Italy, establishes Pinin Farina with the help of Vicenzo Lancia.
His talents as a designer would greatly influence automotive design with such breakthroughs as the 1935 Alfa Romeo 6C, 1947 Cisitalia 202, 1951 Nash-Healey and the 1951 Ferrari 212.
For 1959, Cadillac turned to Pinin Farina to produce the Eldorado Brougham, which saw the chassis shipped to Italy and Pinin Farina would install bodies, something Cadillac would repeat decades later with the 1986 Cadillac Allante, which the company also designed.
The company’s more famous later designs include 1966 Alfa Romeo 1600 Duetto, Fiat 124 Spider, and the 1966 Dino Berlinetta 206 GT Prototype among many others.
In 1961, Battista officially changed his name, and that of the company, to Pininfarina SpA. He would die in 1966, and Sergio Pininfarina would become chairman.
Today, Automobili Pininfarina is owned by Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany. Mahindra & Mahindra acquired Automobili Pininfarina in 2015, paying $185 million.
