AT A DEAD STOP under a cloudy sky, I reposition my hands on the steering wheel and ensure the proper bend of the elbows, oblivious to whether or not I’m breathing. Focus, instead, is on projecting a confident nonchalance to the engineer in the passenger seat, but it’s a struggle. Tom Petty was right—the waiting is the hardest part. “All clear,” crackles the walkie-talkie communique from the spotter ahead, and with Pavlovian response, my right foot meets the floor and the all-electric, 1,900hp Pininfarina Battista feels like it might warp physics in its attempt to cover zero to 100km/h in 1.86 seconds.
The rollout of Pininfarina’s first solo production vehicle in its 93-year history, however, has been quite a bit slower. After Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina launched his eponymous carrozzeria in 1930, it quickly gained renown for collaborations with the likes of Maserati, Alfa Romeo and, most notably, Ferrari—all wanting to have their models dressed in the atelier’s patrician bodywork, which looked like it had been sculpted by the wind and came to define the golden age of motorsport. Although most coachbuilders shuttered when growing postwar demand increased automation, Pininfarina persevered all the way into the electric vehicle (EV) era, though now owned by India’s Mahindra Group and divided into a commercial design house and the nascent automaker responsible for the controlled fury I’m currently piloting.
Denne historien er fra January 2024-utgaven av Robb Report Singapore.
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Denne historien er fra January 2024-utgaven av Robb Report Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BREAKING DOWN WALLS
Georgina Atkinson, managing partner of Origin Private Office, on the evolving landscape of high-end real estate.
Aged Gracefully
The Benromach 50 Years Old by Gordon & MacPhail is a delicious single malt, touched by love, passion and the human hand.
This Month's Feed
Only the best dining and drinking spots in Singapore.
Small-scale Thinking
Architect Todd Saunders wants to change the way we approach hospitality design from the ground up.
Todd Snyder Is Exactly Where He Wants To Be
\"Our whole goal is to present product in a way that guys get it and understand it, versus 'Here's some crazy aspirational brand-you go figure it out on your own'.\"
Depp Dive Into Sauvage
Johnny Depp on music, scents and the mystique of creativity.
Time For Poetry
Pascal Raffy on his love affair with the 202-year-old house of Bovet.
One of a Kind
The incomparable Lange 1 turns 30 this year and A. Lange & Söhne marks the occasion with its trademark understatement.
P For Personality
Enhance your swing, and inject your personal style while you're at it, with TaylorMade's new P-770 and P-7CB irons.
The Short-hop-adventure-craft Category Takes Off
Inside the flight deck of Pivotal's Blackfly eVTOL, an ultra-smart ultra-light with eight propellers, electric propulsion and no pilot's licence required.