- Automobili Pininfarina Battista hyper GT features in new exhibition at California’s Petersen Museum charting 90 years of iconic Italian designs of the past to the present
- Pure electric hyper GT will feature among legendary Pininfarina-designed vehicles, including the 1947 Cisitalia 202 Coupe and a 1966 Dino Berlinetta 206 GT Prototype
- Detailed timeline will take visitors through the lasting family connections across nine decades of car design history, including the launch of Automobili Pininfarina
- “The Aesthetic of Motoring: 90 Years of Pininfarina” opens on 25 March 2021 and runs until 5 December 2021
LOS ANGELES/TURIN, 22 March 2021
The Automobili Pininfarina Battista will take centre stage in a new exhibition at the world famous Petersen Museum in California, US, celebrating 90 years of peerless Italian car design and featuring iconic Pininfarina-designed models that have inspired the pure-electric hyper GT.
“The Aesthetic of Motoring: 90 Years of Pininfarina” exhibition will pay tribute to nine decades of design leadership and includes some of the earliest Pininfarina models, up to the inception of Automobili Pininfarina and the design and production of the all-new Battista.
In 2018, Automobili Pininfarina was created to fulfil Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina’s dream of developing and producing a stand-alone range of Pininfarina-branded cars. The first of these vehicles, presented in early 2019, is the pure-electric Battista hyper GT – the most powerful road-legal car ever designed and produced in Italy. Just 150 will be created and, like many of those iconic Pininfarina designs from the past, each will be individually hand-crafted at the Pininfarina SpA atelier in Turin, Italy.
Sitting at the heart of the exhibition is one of the original design models from 2019. It delivers the vision of the new business and shows how its design has been influenced by, and pays tribute to some of those historic models positioned close by
Luca Borgogno, Chief Design Officer, Automobili Pininfarina, said: “The new Battista hyper GT is a unique design with beautiful detailing inspired by nine decades of design excellence, befitting the most powerful Italian car ever made. The unrivalled heritage of Pininfarina has allowed us to look back for inspiriration and honour some of the revolutionary vehicles of the past, to create an icon for the future. This exhibition gives visitors a unique opportunity to see how the future of electric luxury performance has learned from the lessons of the past and to appreciate the timeless quality of exceptional design first hand.”
The Battista’s starring role in the exhibition is the latest example of the growing presence of Automobili Pininfarina and its pure-electric Battista in North America. The world’s only luxury pure-electric carmaker is represented by a total of seven retailers across the region, with two located on the West Coast, including O’Gara Coach in Los Angeles. The first cars will be delivered to clients later this year.
Alongside the new Battista are legendary designs from Pininfarina’s past. These include a 1931 Cadillac Model 452A Boattail Roadster, the first Pininfarina body mounted on a non-Italian chassis, and a 1947 Cisitalia 202 coupe, famed for its sleek aerodynamics and regarded as revolutionary in its design. The quartet of design icons is completed by a 1966 Dino Berlinetta 206 GT Prototype – the first mid-engine Ferrari. This will be replaced with a 1967 Ferrari 365P Berlinetta Speciale “Tre Posti,” the last vehicle bodied by Pininfarina for a private client.
The exhibition will also dive deeper into some of the incredible achievements and key moments over the past 90 years of Pininfarina history, stretching all the way back to 1930. It also highlights the ongoing family lineage, starting with the original coachbuilders, right through to the creation of the Automobili Pininfarina business back in 2018.
Petersen visitors will also get the chance to see other important vehicles from Pininfarina’s back catalogue, with a number of significant models displayed throughout the museum. In addition to the exhibition, a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Interim Berlinetta, a 1989 Ferrari Testarossa, a 1991 Ferrari F40 and 2004 Ferrari Enzo feature in the ongoing “Supercars” exhibit. If visitors make their way to The Vault section of the museum they will find, among others, a 1953 Nash-Healey Roadster, 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 and the 1982 Ferrari 308 GTSi from “Magnum PI”, all of which owe their beautiful designs to Pininfarina.
Following the opening of the new museum exhibit, Automobili Pininfarina plans to return to the US ahead of Monterey Car Week in August this year, where Battista will be seen and experienced in production form by clients, collectors and experts in the area for a series of motoring celebrations. The pioneering hyper GT is currently undergoing the next exciting phase of dynamic testing at the Nardò Technical Center In Italy with engineers, including ex-Formula One and Formula E driver Nick Heidfeld
“The Aesthetic of Motoring: 90 Years of Pininfarina” opens on 25 March 2021, running until 5 December 2021. For more information about the Petersen Automotive Museum and its exhibits, visit Petersen.org.
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.
ABOUT PETERSEN MUSEUM
The Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity. The museum is located at 6060 Wilshire Blvd. (at Fairfax) in Los Angeles, California 90036. Hours of operation are Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5. p.m. For general information, call 323-930-CARS or visit Petersen.org.
