Pininfarina Battista Anniversario: nine things you need to know

The Anniversario is a special edition of the Battista, an electric luxury hyper GT, with which Pininfarina celebrates its 90th anniversary. Only five Battista Anniversarios will be built – sorry, individually hand-built - at Pininfarina’s factory in Turin. So if you want one, and you’ve got €2.6 million, don’t ponder the pros and cons too long because there are only three left.

Words: Maverick Greissing

Yes, it is a BEV and, no, it hasn't got any 'go-faster' paddles. The Battista boasts four motors – one for each wheel – for a staggering 1.900bhp or, if you prefer nerdy engineering jargon, 1,400kW. Sucking up kilowatts from a 120kWh centrally-positioned T shaped battery pack, the Battista powertrain generates an outrageous 1,696 lb ft of torque, capable of blasting you from 0-62mph in 1.9 seconds. If you’re interested, that’s faster than a contemporary F1 car.

Basically the Anniversario is a standard Battista saddled with the optional Furiosa package that includes a revised carbon fibre front splitter, new side blades, a new rear diffuser and, most notably, rear aero fins and a new rear wing. The Furiosa’s aerodynamic enhancements increase downforce giving the Battista more high-speed stability through fast cornering and assist deceleration when you hit the brakes.

Despite the hyperbolic performance specs and dynamic enhancements, the Battista is an intersection between luxury and road-going performance. Hence the Gran Turismo allusion in the “hyper-GT” appellative.

We think it looks good but you can make up your own mind. Looking somewhat more menacing is the 'standard' Battista prototype we're here to experience from the passenger seat... 

With all four wheels piling on colossal lbs of torque, the Battista is fiercely quick. The power is delivered instantaneously with a rib-splintering momentum that progresses relentlessly. Most supercars can get to 62mph in about three seconds – the Battista does it in 1.9s.

Though we didn’t get to experience the Battista at full chat, the development team claims that it can accelerate to 186mph in less than 12 seconds, and then cruise along at 217 mph.

Despite its silent EV powertrain, there’s actually a lot going on. Indeed, the Battista’s acoustic quiescence actually makes the overall experience more enthralling, allowing you to sense, listen and feel what the car’s doing and how the tyres deal with the punishment.

The Battista corners sweetly. Riding as a passenger next to Nick Heidfeld (Pininfarina’s development driver, F1 and Goodwood ace) as he carelessly threw the Battista into corners at unwarranted speeds was both rewarding and enlightening. More to the point, despite the development mules not having either traction control or torque vectoring, the Battista provides loads of grip, and can carry dizzying high speeds through corners. Thanks to its weight and AWD, acceleration out of corners is mighty too, and this is before the black art of torque vectoring has been fully developed.

We asked Heidfeld how the Battista manages such astonishing traction without any nannies. “Before actually testing the car here a few days ago I was asking myself the same thing, and thought I’d be smoking its wheels!” he told TG. “I think the car’s weight – two tonnes – helps the 4x4 transmission deliver the power without shredding the tyres. It’s obviously going to work even better once we’ve calibrated traction control and torque vectoring.”