- Automobili Pininfarina Design Director, Luca Borgogno, presents unique version of pure- electric Battista hypercar at its UK public debut within the British Library Piazza from 6th June to 9th June
- Italian sports and luxury car creator Automobili Pininfarina in partnership with the British Library’s landmark ‘Leonardo da Vinci: A Mind in Motion’ exhibition from 7th June to 8th September
LONDON, 7 JUNE 2019
Automobili Pininfarina is presenting the 1,900 hp, zero-emissions Battista hypercar on general public display in the UK for the first time in a bespoke enclosure in the British Library’s main Piazza from Thursday 6th June to Sunday 9th June.
The stunning Battista design model, in a unique exterior finish, is in London representing Automobili Pininfarina’s partnership with the British Library’s ‘Leonardo da Vinci: A Mind in Motion’ exhibition. A new film of this unique Battista at the British Library has been produced celebrating the luxury electric car company’s ambitions for extreme performance, innovative engineering and beautiful style – principles of modern-day Italian automotive design that resonate back to Leonardo’s inspirational work.
The Pininfarina Battista was presented to a select audience at a VIP preview event yesterday (6th June) by Automobili Pininfarina Design Director, Luca Borgogno. At the reception, Borgogno said: “We are incredibly proud to be partnering with the British Library and celebrating the life and work of a true Italian genius. Leonardo proved that design and engineering can be revolutionary, functional and beautiful and this is a principle by which Pininfarina has lived throughout its 90-year history. The Battista will set new levels for performance and deliver innovative engineering solutions in an elegant and beautiful body, so we hope it represents how we, as Italians, have been inspired by Leonardo for centuries.”
Pininfarina Battista
The Battista is set to redefine automotive power and technology when the first cars are produced in 2020 at the home of Pininfarina S.p.A. in Cambiano, near Turin. It will be the most powerful car ever produced in Italy, where the famous carrozzeria will hand-build just 150 editions of the zero – emissions, pure-electric Battista.
It is anticipated that only 50 of the 150 electric hypercars will be available for the European market and the Battista is now available to order. Potential customers are invited to apply to own a Battista using an online service within the company’s website.
‘Leonardo da Vinci: A Mind in Motion’ at the British Library
Marking the 500th anniversary of the passing of Leonardo da Vinci, the British Library’s ‘Leonardo da Vinci: A Mind in Motion’ exhibition (7th June – 8th September 2019) will reveal how Leonardo believed motion to be the “cause of all life”.
Leonardo da Vinci is known first and foremost as an artist but the British Library’s exhibition will focus on his notebooks and the unique and compelling insight they offer into the workings of his mind and his scientific investigations.
It will be the first time a selection of notes and drawings from the Codex Arundel, owned by the British Library, the Codex Forster, owned by the V&A, and the Codex Leicester, owned by Bill Gates, will be displayed together in the UK.
The exhibition will also look at how the scientific exploration of nature and motion found in his notebooks directly informed his work as an inventor and artist. More information can be found here: www.bl.uk/events/leonardo-da-vinci-a-mind-in-motion.
Leonardo was exceptionally skilled as a draughtsman and able to express in visual terms the form and intended function of his designs and drawings: principles similar to those on which the Pininfarina carrozzeria was founded by Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina in 1930.
EDITOR''S NOTES
THE AUTOMOBILI PININFARINA BATTISTA (PRESS KIT LINK)
The Battista will be the most powerful car ever designed and built in Italy and it will deliver a level of performance that is unachievable today in any road-legal sports car featuring internal combustion engine technology. Faster than a current Formula 1 race car in its 0 -100 km/h sub-two second sprint, and with 1,900 hp and 2,340 Nm torque on tap, the Battista will combine extreme engineering and technology in a zero emissions package. The Battista’s 120 kWh battery provides power to four electric motors – one at each wheel – with a combined WLTP range of up to 476 km (296 miles), US EPA combined: 300 miles on a single charge. No more than 150 examples of Battista will be individually hand-crafted at the Battista Atelier in Cambiano, Italy.
ABOUT AUTOMOBILI PININFARINA
Automobili Pininfarina is based in operational headquarters in Munich, Germany, with a team of experienced automotive executives from luxury and premium car brands. Designed, engineered, and produced by hand in Italy, the Battista hyper GT and all future models will be sold in all major global markets under the brand name Pininfarina. The new company aims to be the most desired, sustainable luxury car brand in the world.
The company is a 100 per cent Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd investment.
