Driving the world's fastest car! Pininfarina's £2m electric Battista accelerates quicker than an F1 car... but what's it like around town?

Mamma Mia! – trying to squeeze the world’s fastest production car into an Italian-sized parking space is enough to send any driver around the bend.

The Pininfarina Battista costs £2million but measures only 47 inches high and has virtually no rear-view visibility whatsoever.

Damaging the carbon-fibre body would costs tens of thousands of pounds to repair, with skilled artisans taking weeks to hand-paint each car to perfection.

What's it like driving the world's fastest car on winding streets where you can't go above 20mph? We've been to Italy to test Pininfarina's £2m electric Battista on real roads

What’s it like driving the world’s fastest car on winding streets where you can’t go above 20mph? We’ve been to Italy to test Pininfarina’s £2m electric Battista on real roads

Underneath the jaw-dropping shell, a smorgasbord of technology ensures the Battista is the most powerful road-legal car ever built.

This is one electric vehicle that wasn’t designed for stop-start town driving.

Instead, a T-shaped battery pack channels energy to four electric motors that will out-sprint any car on the planet.

Previous 1 Next The £2.4MILLION Pininfarina Battista Anniversario is one of… The guilt-free electric hypercar: Pininfarina unleashes the… When are car brands going electric? We look at each…

Share this article

HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP

How to save hundreds on car insurance: Ten top tips to cut the cost in just a few minutes

Just 150 examples will be made, each one capable of racing from 0-to-62mph in 1.9 seconds – to put that into context, that’s less time than it takes Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car (certainly this season).

The staggering statistics reveal Battista produces 1,874bhp, 2.2 G-force of whiplashing thrust and rockets to 186mph in 12 seconds. The hypercar eventually runs out of steam at 218mph.

It’s the ultimate Top Trumps machine for mega-rich owners in a hurry – but can you drive it in real world?

Just 150 examples will be made, each one capable of racing from 0-to-62mph in 1.9 seconds To put that acceleration into content, that's less time than it takes Lewis Hamilton's F1 car

Just 150 examples will be made, each one capable of racing from 0-to-62mph in 1.9 seconds. To put that acceleration into content, that’s less time than it takes Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car

While the Battista is capable of a top speed of 218mph, what is it it like on the cobbled streets close to Turin where it's built?

While the Battista is capable of a top speed of 218mph, what is it it like on the cobbled streets close to Turin where it’s built?

The staggering statistics reveal Battista produces 1,874bhp, 2.2 G-force of whiplashing thrust and rockets to 186mph in 12 seconds

The Battista has all the dramatic design you'd expect from an Italian hypercar. That includes a pair of dihedral wing doors

The Battista has all the dramatic design you’d expect from an Italian hypercar. That includes a pair of dihedral wing doors

The cobbled streets of Diano d’Alba are an hour from Turin where the Battista is built.

The hilltop village is at the heart of Italy’s premiere wine region, a spaghetti of narrow lanes best explored on a scooter – or ambling around on foot with a gelato ice cream in hand.

It’s a relatively chilly Saturday morning and the locals still have their taverna shutters firmly locked. Even the parish church is eerily silent. There’s not a single tourist looking out from the ancient ramparts, while a pair of Lycra-clad cyclists are the only sign of life.

I’m edging gingerly down Via Umberto in the Battista.

The cosy cabin isn’t that different to any other low-slung supercar – aluminium knobs and buttons, a large infotainment screen each side of the steering wheel and phone-sized speedo in the centre. An outsize dial selects the drive mode but otherwise, this could be a McLaren or Lamborghini.

We took the £2million hypercar to the small hilltop village of Diano d'Alba. The location is in the heart of Italy's premiere wine region that has a spaghetti of narrow lanes best explored on a scooter or on foot with a gelato ice cream in hand

We took the £2million hypercar to the small hilltop village of Diano d’Alba. The location is in the heart of Italy’s premiere wine region that has a spaghetti of narrow lanes best explored on a scooter or on foot with a gelato ice cream in hand

Jeremy Taylor pictured with the Pininfarina Battista ahead of his test drive What's the risk of driving such a car on tiny roads? Damaging the carbon-fibre body would costs tens of thousands of pounds to repair, with skilled artisans taking weeks to hand-paint each car to perfection

What’s the risk of driving such a car on tiny roads? Damaging the carbon-fibre body would costs tens of thousands of pounds to repair, with skilled artisans taking weeks to hand-paint each car to perfection

The Pininfarina Battista is just 47 inches high and has virtually no rear-view visibility whatsoever. Ideal for navigating through a twisty Italian village, then...

The Pininfarina Battista is just 47 inches high and has virtually no rear-view visibility whatsoever. Ideal for navigating through a twisty Italian village, then…

We found the cabin to be relatively cosy, which isn't that different to any other low-slung supercar

We found the cabin to be relatively cosy, which isn’t that different to any other low-slung supercar

It all looks very supercar familiar and yet there is something missing – sound.

Anyone who has driven an electric car will tell you that the lack of noise is disconcerting at first but in a car with this much power on board it’s downright weird.

So instead of waking to snorting V8, the locals in Diano d’Alba are still tucked under their duvets, unaware of the Battista’s stealth-like presence outside.

Our test drive took place on a relatively chilly Saturday morning. The locals still had their taverna shutters firmly locked - and we didn't wake them up

Our test drive took place on a relatively chilly Saturday morning. The locals still had their taverna shutters firmly locked – and we didn’t wake them up

This is a car that can be personalised inside and out ¿ even the paint colour applied to the underside of the pop-up rear wing

This is a car that can be personalised inside and out – even the paint colour applied to the underside of the pop-up rear wing

The Battista does a great hjob of drawing a crowd. Open the doors and locals will spill onto the street...

The Battista does a great hjob of drawing a crowd. Open the doors and locals will spill onto the street…

Anyone who has driven an electric car will tell you that the lack of noise is disconcerting at first but in a car with this much power on board it's downright weird,' Jeremy explains as he navigates the £2m hypercar through narrow streets

Anyone who has driven an electric car will tell you that the lack of noise is disconcerting at first but in a car with this much power on board it’s downright weird,’ Jeremy explains as he navigates the £2m hypercar through narrow streets

To compensate for this lack of aural drama, Pininfarina has created its own ‘engine’ noise with a calming effect.

Called Suono Puro, or pure sound, the dreamy frequency is set at 54 Hz and fine-tuned from 2,000 hours of lounge bar-like compositions that might have been composed in a Tibetan temple.

The wellbeing playback is pumped out through speakers and more likely to put listeners to sleep than send pulses racing.

The makers are keen to stress the eco nature of the cabin materials too, using olive leaves to tan the sustainably-sourced leather and recycled fishing nets for the floor mats.

Pininfarina's incredible body design is the Battista's true calling card ¿ rather than a set of noisy quad exhaust pipes

Pininfarina’s incredible body design is the Battista’s true calling card – rather than a set of noisy quad exhaust pipes

Pininfarina is best-known as Italy's most famous styling house, designing countless Ferraris, Fiats and others. We lost count of the number of times we spotted people frantically clutching for their camera phones to take a quick snap of the car

Pininfarina is best-known as Italy’s most famous styling house, designing countless Ferraris, Fiats and others. We lost count of the number of times we spotted people frantically clutching for their camera phones to take a quick snap of the car

That giant spoiler isn't just for show Tearing around the Italian countryside minutes earlier, the Battista is blisteringly fast, pressing me back into the driver's seat, daring me to up the power through the sportier drive modes

That giant spoiler isn’t just for show. Tearing around the Italian countryside minutes earlier, the Battista is blisteringly fast, pressing me back into the driver’s seat, daring me to up the power through the sportier drive modes

The Battista's T-shaped 120kW battery pack offers a range of at least 280 miles. Charging it to 80% of the battery capacity can be completed in 40 minutes or less

The Battista’s T-shaped 120kW battery pack offers a range of at least 280 miles. Charging it to 80% of the battery capacity can be completed in 40 minutes or less

The entire car can be personalised inside and out – even the paint colour applied to the underside of the pop-up rear wing.

That giant spoiler isn’t just for show though. Tearing around the Italian countryside minutes earlier, the Battista is blisteringly fast, pressing me back into the driver’s seat, daring me to up the power through the sportier drive modes.

In one pedal mode – look no brakes! – it regenerates power as I ease off the accelerator.

Pininfarina Battista at a glance

Car type: Luxury electric performance hypercar GT

Price: £2million

On sale: since 2020

Total production: 150

Built: Italy

Top speed: 218mph (350kmh/hr)

0-62mph (100km/hr): 1.9 seconds

0-186mph (300kmhr): 12 seconds

Drive: Pure electric all-wheel drive

Batteries: 120kWh

Pulling power: 1,874bhp

Range: at least 280 miles

Charging time: 80% of the battery in 40 minutes or less

Even over rough road surfaces, the hypercar refuses to give up grip, with all-wheel drive and an immensely rigid carbon-fibre chassis inspiring confidence.

Floor it and the Battista takes off at Warp Factor 9, with no chance of glancing down to check out the crazy antics of the speedometer.

Italians have a passion for supercars and by now the word is out.

As the Battista silently glides towards the Na Mica ‘D Pan coffee shop, doors open and the locals spill onto the street. Slipping out under the dihedral wing doors, I’m invited in for coffee but decline a cheeky offer to valet park.

As the the posse of villagers line up for selfies by the bonnet, it’s easy to understand the stratospheric price tag.

Pininfarina’s incredible body design is the Battista’s true calling card – rather than a set of noisy quad exhaust pipes.

Pininfarina is best-known as Italy’s most famous styling house, designing countless Ferraris, Fiats and other cars.

The company’s first ever model of its own is a massively fast car and a tribute to late Battista Pininfarina, who founded the business in 1930. But there’s more to come.

Company chairman, Paolo Pininfarina, revealed: ‘My grandfather always had the vision that one day, there would be a stand-alone range of Pininfarina-branded cars.

‘The Battista is a glorious way to link our past with the future of motoring.’

For now, though, the Battista’s mind-boggling performance is more than enough to grab the headlines.

It has Pininifarina whispered in the same breath as other electric hypercars coming down the track from Rimac and Lotus too.

You just need somebody always on hand to help you park it…

If you have the guts to floor, the Battista will take off at Warp Factor 9, with no chance of glancing down to check out the crazy antics of the speedometer

Loved by those old and young: No matter the age, the Italian locals all wanted to take a closer look at the exclusive hypercar

To compensate for its lack of aural drama, Pininfarina has created its own 'engine' noise with a calming effect. Called Suono Puro, or pure sound, the dreamy frequency is set at 54 Hz and fine-tuned from 2,000 hours of lounge bar-like compositions that might have been composed in a Tibetan temple To compensate for its lack of aural drama, Pininfarina has created its own 'engine' noise with a calming effect. Called Suono Puro, or pure sound, the dreamy frequency is set at 54 Hz and fine-tuned from 2,000 hours of lounge bar-like compositions that might have been composed in a Tibetan temple

To compensate for its lack of aural drama, Pininfarina has created its own ‘engine’ noise with a calming effect. Called Suono Puro, or pure sound, the dreamy frequency is set at 54 Hz and fine-tuned from 2,000 hours of lounge bar-like compositions that might have been composed in a Tibetan temple

The wellbeing playback is pumped out through speakers inside the cabin. The soothing tones are no distraction from the bounty of performance at your disposal. Even trying to park this £2m motor is enough to make your heart race