Battista claims title of fastest accelerating car
Pininfarina says it has bested the record previously held by the Rimac Nevera - although not by much
Automotive engineers like to talk about fine margins when discussing performance. It speaks to the exactness of their job. And these days the margins can be very fine indeed. Take the production car 1/4 mile sprint record just claimed by Pininfarina for its electric hypercar. Tested at India’s Natrax proving ground, the 1900hp Battista clocked 8.551 seconds over the blue ribbon distance. That’s preposterously fast, of course (when Autocar tested a Porsche 918 Spyder from a standing start, it took 9.81 seconds, and a McLaren P1, 10.2 seconds) but Pininfarina did have to concede that it had only bested the previous record holder by an infinitesimally small 0.031 seconds.
It’s not entirely clear if that time was based on a two-way average, although it’s probably not worth getting bogged down in the details: no one much doubted the 1914hp Rimac Nevera was capable of the 8.582-second time it set on a drag strip in California back in 2021. That the Battista - wearing stickier Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tyres, it must be said - is a match for it, doesn’t amount to a huge surprise. Nor does the fact that the electric hypercar broke the tape at very nearly 168mph, although that too is a remarkable speed.
Pininfarina didn’t stop there either. In the company of journalists from Autocar India, it also set a 13.38-second 1/2 mile time which it reckons cements the Battista’s place as the world’s fastest accelerating production car. Certainly that tallies with the initial performance figures it released last year which claimed a 0-62mph time of 1.86 seconds and a 0-124mph in a frankly silly 4.75 seconds. But doing it for the camera is always a nice way to reiterate the message.
Especially for a new audience after production of the Battista kicked off in Italy last year, and to the satisfaction of a shareholder (namely, Mahindra & Mahindra). “This year, new Battista owners are excited to explore the unprecedented performance of this design and engineering masterpiece,” said Pininfarina boss, Paolo Dellachà. “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.” True enough, Paolo - although let's not forget the highest (albeit it unofficial) top speed still belongs to car that features a quad-turbocharged W16. Go figure.
Um....I am not really sure where we go from here....
g quickly if you have one of these.
We have speed limits, do we also need acceleration limits? These levels of acceleration are potentially dangerous when other vehicles / people are around. Ever pulled out into the outside lane of an Autobahn, only to realise that the tiny dot in the distance was a Porsche doing 250kph that is now furiously flashing you. I had the "acceleration" version of this versus an EV on an urban dual carriageway. It is difficult to account for how quickly EVs can accelerate, even when you do Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre - more like Mirror, Signal, Man....ure. 
Not sure what the reason is for any of this, can the investment in making something like this really pay back enough to justify the work it takes?
I know it could well be just because, just to see how far the boundaries can be pushed and then some more...
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