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Pininfarina confirms partnership with Rimac for electric hypercar

How does a 1,900hp and 2,300Nm automobile sound?

The collaboration’s very first hypercar is the PF0. PHOTO FROM PININFARINA

If you’re still not excited about electric supercars, then maybe this latest development from the world of juiced-up speed machines can finally change your mind. Automobili Pininfarina, a newly established European automaker that shares its name with the fabled Italian design house responsible for the lines and curves on some of the most iconic cars to ever grace our roads, has just announced further details about its future hypercar project, and it looks like the firm isn’t planning to do things half-heartedly. Its aim is to create the most powerful sports car in history, and to achieve this ambitious target, the company is roping in some world-class talent and technology.

For starters, Pininfarina has signed a partnership deal with Croatian carmaker and technology provider Rimac, a step that suddenly makes the targeted performance figures for the company’s first hypercar (so far called the PF0) quite realistic. The objective is to build a car with a total power output of around 1,900hp and maximum torque of 2,300Nm—one that can go from zero to 100km/h in two seconds, and from a standstill to 300km/h in a mere 12 seconds, with a top speed of 400km/h and a range of 500km per charge. If the engine’s numbers look familiar, that’s because those are pretty much the same figures announced earlier this year for Rimac’s own electric hypercar, the C Two.

Rimac has built up a solid track record of creating extremely powerful electric setups in the roughly 10 years since founder Mate Rimac started his venture, and it is this technology that Pininfarina now has access to.

These guys will work on something truly special. PHOTO FROM PININFARINA

Next, the company got itself nice new headquarters in the Bavarian capital of Munich. This area of Germany is home to many automobile and general engineering and technology companies, giving Automobili Pininfarina easy access to a huge talent pool. A number of high-level staff appointments finally complete the setup for this ambitious venture. Christian Jung is joining the company as chief technical officer, bringing with him a treasure trove of experience that includes working on the Mission E project as Porsche’s director for e-mobility systems design and spending time in the US with the EV startup Faraday Future.

EV boffin Christian Jung is the technical officer. PHOTO FROM PININFARINA

Peter Tutzer, the second senior hire that was just announced, has an equally impressive résumé. Next to being the chief engineer for Porsche’s race car program in the past, Tutzer also worked on the Pagani Zonda and was one of the key people in the development of the Bugatti Veyron. He joins as senior technical adviser. To round things out—and to ensure that the car can be tested properly—the newly formed venture has hired Nick Heidfeld as development driver. With two decades of motorsport experience under his belt, including racing in the all-electric Formula E series, the 41-year-old German seems like the perfect choice for the job.

Former Formula 1 (and current Formula E) driver Nick Heidfeld wants to electrify the world. PHOTO FROM PININFARINA

This new brand of high-performance cars is actually owned by Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., which adds considerable commercial firepower to the proceedings and should make things a whole lot easier when it comes to challenges like global distribution. With the foundations laid, all this latest hypercar manufacturer has to do now is deliver the goods. Market launch is planned for 2020, which leaves us enough time to play the lottery and win enough money for what will undoubtedly be a pretty pricey car.

UPDATE: The article has been tweaked to reflect the difference between (Automobili) Pininfarina the automaker and (Carrozzeria) Pininfarina the car design company.



Frank Schuengel

Frank is a German e-commerce executive who loves his wife, a Filipina, so much he decided to base himself in Manila. He has interesting thoughts on Philippine motoring. He writes the aptly named ‘Frankly’ column.



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