Pininfarina has confirmed that its new electric hypercar will take the name of the company鈥檚 founder, Battista Farina. Due to be revealed in March 2019 at the Geneva Motor Show, the Automobili Pininfarina Battista will be the most powerful car ever produced developing 1,900bhp and 2,300Nm of torque. Supposedly, the Battista will cover the 0-62mph sprint in less than two seconds and will have a top speed of 250mph. Pininfarina also claims the Battista will be capable of 310 miles between charges. However, official figures are yet to be confirmed. The Battista will launch in 2020 with no more than 150 examples being produced, with the USA, Europe and Middle East set to get 50 examples each. Prices are expected to be between 拢1.5 million and 拢2 million. When making the announcement on the new Battista鈥檚 nameplate, the company鈥檚 Chairman, Paolo Pininfarina, grandson to Battista Farina, said: 鈥淭his is genuinely a dream come true. My grandfather always had the vision that one day there would be a stand-alone range of Pininfarina-branded cars. The famous Italian coachbuilder and design house, which is now owned by Indian firm Mahindra & Mahindra, announced that it would start producing its own vehicles as Automobili Pininfarina, a new division created to stand alongside the existing consultancy business. The vehicle鈥檚 design will be carried out under the direction of Automobili Pininfarina鈥檚 newly appointed design director Luca Borgogno, who has moved across from the consultancy division. The sketches released by the firm are said to be Borgogno鈥檚 early vision for the car. Mahindra was one of the original teams for the all-electric single seater series, Formula E, entering in the inaugural 2014-15 season and has said that the lessons learned from its participation will be applied to the cars it makes. Do you think the new Automobili Pininfarina Battista will be a success?
Both cars have 20-inch wheels with low-profile tyres and on poor surfaces there鈥檚 a slight harshness to the way the two cars tackle bumps and ridges. The vRS comes with Dynamic Chassis Control with adaptive dampers; dial it up into Sport mode and there鈥檚 more jiggle but with it comes better body control. In fact, attack a corner and the vRS does a very impressive job at containing its sheer size. The steering is accurate but devoid of feel and while the vRS gets a progressive set-up, which adds extra weight the faster you go, it feels a little artificial. Speaking of artificial, the vRS also gets Dynamic Sound Boost; it鈥檚 an actuator fitted to the exhaust that adds fake noise into the cabin and only really comes into effect in Sport mode. It鈥檚 designed to make the diesel engine sound a little fruitier but it fails as it creates a weird, drony tune that simply isn鈥檛 needed. It sounds good on the outside, though. The twin-turbo 2.0-litre diesel is pretty punchy, with its fullest effect coming when overtaking slower traffic, as the engine鈥檚 500Nm of torque gives it quickfire responses. It鈥檚 matched up to the usual VW Group seven-speed DSG box and while it鈥檚 a bit slow in a Kodiaq Sportline 2.0-litre 190, here鈥檚 it鈥檚 noticeably sharper. That said, it鈥檚 quick but never genuinely rapid, and the engine doesn鈥檛 seem overtly sporting for a hot SUV. The vRS should be the perfect car with a practical interior, an SUV body and subtle sporty styling. In many respects it is but the car鈥檚 big problem is how much Skoda is charging for it.
The 718 Cayman comes from a storied pedigree of performance cars from Porsche. The 鈥?18鈥?was tacked on in 2017 to pay homage to a 1957 Porsche race car by the same name. 2019 brings minor changes to the 718 Cayman. Every 718 Cayman sports a lightweight body that鈥檚 a handsome blend of form and function and an engine mounted just behind the front seats. This gives the Porsche its impressive center of gravity, giving it an advantage over competitors like the Chevrolet Corvette and Jaguar F-PACE. There鈥檚 even a decent amount of cargo space: 9.7 cubic feet up front and 5.2 in the rear. There are three trims for the 718 Cayman. The Base setup makes use of a turbocharged 2.0-liter flat 4-cylinder engine with 300 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque that鈥檒l get you to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds. The previously optional sport-exhaust system now comes standard, offering increased amounts of efficiency and auditory drama. For even more performance, the Sport Chrono Package shaves two tenths of a second off of the 0-to-60 time and adds a lap-timing chronograph, rev matching, and actively adjustable driveline mounts.
While the 718 Cayman鈥檚 focus continues to be on the driving experience, it includes a host of creature comforts. Bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime-running lights, LED taillights, partial leather 2-way power seats, keyless start, a 4.6-inch color instrument panel LCD, an 8-speaker audio system, satellite radio, and Bluetooth connectivity all come standard. Options like keyless access, full leather, voice commands, dual-zone automatic climate control, navigation, and Apple CarPlay are also available. That鈥檚 not to mention all of the options like flashier paint, interior finishes, weight-saving wheels, and even a fire extinguisher for track use. The 718 Cayman is relatively light on safety features. But every trim receives a reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors. From there, adaptive lighting, adaptive cruise control, and lane-change assist are the only add-ons. No major agency has released public crash-test data for the current 718 Cayman, but that isn鈥檛 unusual for low-volume sports cars. The Porsche 718 Cayman is a sleek performance coupe that鈥檚 equally at home in daily driving, on a long road trip, or on a track. Kyree is new to the automotive journalism scene, but has voiced snarky public opinions about cars for quite some time. When he's not drooling over the latest European luxury sled, he's designing web experiences or writing backend code.
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