The competition for the world’s quickest production car has been fierce in recent years and has been decided by just a few tents of a second. This time, however, the new champion has an even smaller advantage over the previous record-holder. We are talking about just 0.03 seconds in the quarter-mile discipline.
Without further ado – the Pininfarina Battista registered a quarter-mile time of 8.55 seconds thus beating the Rimac Nevera, which did 8.58 in April 2021. The fully electric Battista also covered the half-mile distance in 13.38 seconds at Indore’s Natrax facility in India. The event was also attended by our colleagues from Autocar India Hormazd Sorabjee and Renuka Kirpalani who joined the Italian brand’s Performance, Test, and Validation Team including test driver Stefano Costa. A video from the event is attached at the top of this page.
Gallery: Pininfarina Battista world speed records
Two more far less exciting but still notable records were also beaten. With Sorabjee behind the wheel, the Battista hit a top speed of 358.03 kilometers per hour (222.46 miles per hour) on the track, which made the model the fastest car to ever land in India. Renuka Kirpalani, in turn, hit 357.10 kph (221.89 mph) and set a new record for the fastest Indian female driver in the world. It’s important to note that all these records, including the quarter- and half-mile sprints, were not validated by Guinness but by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the Indian sporting body affiliated with the FIA.
Another fun fact is that the Battista was fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires on all four corners during the record runs and these are tires that are currently available for Battista customers. No mechanical tweaks were made to the hypercar, which means it relied on its quad-motor electric powertrain with 1,900 horsepower (1,417 kilowatts) and 1,696 pound-feet (2,300 Newton-meters) of torque.
“This year, new Battista owners are excited to explore the unprecedented performance of this design and engineering masterpiece. These speed records – and independent tests – have validated our ambition to create a new generation of hyper and luxury car leading with Battista, whereby electric power delivers performance that is simply unachievable in the world of ICE powertrains,” Paolo Dellacha, Automobili Pininfarina CEO, comments
As a final reminder, Pininfarina hand builds the Battista in Italy and each example of the car takes approximately 1,250 hours to complete. Just 150 cars are planned to be assembled and each one of them costs at least $2.25 million.
