Speed Over Savings
We speak a lot here on GreenCars about the benefits of electric vehicles in terms of reducing carbon emissions and their lower cost of ownership thanks to reduced fueling costs and financial incentives. But there is another major reason drivers make the switch to electric – and that’s performance. EVs don’t just offer smooth, silent running; electric motors produce instantaneous torque, which helps them deliver incredible acceleration and performance. As proof of that, the new Pininfarina Battista “hyper GT” is not only the fastest-accelerating electric vehicle in history, it’s also the fastest-accelerating production vehicle on the planet – and one that is capable of achieving a top track speed of over 222 mph.
Designed and built in Italy, the Pininfarina Battista is a pure-electric supercar, and thanks to its electric technology, offers a level of performance that no road-legal gasoline-engine car can touch. It accelerates to 60 mph faster than a Formula 1 race car, thanks to 1,900 hp, and delivers an incredible 1725 lb-ft of torque. For the last year, it has been touring the world setting speed records while being demonstrated for a very exclusive group of potential buyers – only 150 will be made for worldwide distribution, making it incredibly rare and expensive, as well as incredibly fast.
Faster Than F1, Legal for the Street
How fast is the Battista? Highly-tuned Top Fuel dragsters with thousands of horsepower and huge supercharged engines can barely touch the electric Battista’s acceleration numbers. Nor can they do so while being street-legal, offering the all-weather, all-seasons traction and stability of all-wheel drive, and having the luxurious, tech-filled interior you’d expect of a seven-figure Italian supercar.
How does the Battista do it? It starts with a lightweight carbon-fiber structure, developed specifically as an electric vehicle to maximize room for the battery, and with careful consideration of aerodynamics. A 120-kWh battery not only provides the juice necessary to deliver the car’s headline performance numbers, but also lets the Battista achieve a U.S. EPA-estimated range of 300 miles on a single charge.
Four electric motors, one for each wheel, not only give all-wheel drive, but let the car’s brain divert exactly the right amount of torque needed to each corner for maximum performance – without needing heavy and complex mechanical differentials. The net result is a supercar that, thanks to electric technology, out-supers everything else on the market.
In late 2022, the Pininfarina Battista set a series of performance world records at its test base in Nardò, Italy. The electric supercar’s unique launch control technology contributed to Formula 1 car-beating acceleration. The Battista zaps to 60 mph from a standstill in just 1.79 seconds and to 120 mph in just 4.49 seconds. It can complete the quarter-mile in just 8.55 seconds, and the half-mile in just 13.38 seconds. It also set a record for the shortest stopping distance of any electric car in the world, decelerating from 62 mph to zero in just 101 feet.
The latest batch of performance numbers were generated at India’s Natrax test facility in February 2023, where Pininfarina was showcasing the exceptional performance available to all Battista drivers. On Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, the Battista hit a top speed of over 22 mph, Renuka Kirpalani not only set new records for quarter-mile and half-mile speeds, but also became the fastest female driver in the world, topping over 222 mph.
The Battista is Handmade in Italy
Each Battista is far more than a speed machine, however. Each one is the result of more than 1,250 hours of skilled craftsmanship in Cambiano, Italy, where the company’s production atelier is based. With a total of 128 million possible interior combinations alone, the new supercar promises new levels of customized tailoring. Owners can choose from near-unlimited levels of interior color schemes and finishes, in addition to the exterior color combinations with bespoke detailing and exclusive aluminum exterior jewelry and alloy wheel designs.
Beautiful, exclusive, relaxed, and discreet – with the ability to out-accelerate any gasoline-powered supercar – the Battista looks and feels like the future of speed.
