Cars Pininfarina PF0 – Face to face with the new electric hypercar



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"I'm really glad we drove this car together in Cambiano, I'm sure everything will be fine and I really believe in this project": Paolo Pininfarina speaks to Luca Borgogno, lead designer of the group PF0, the first electric hypercar produced in Italy by Pininfarina Cars. We are at lunch time and an in camera presentation of the vehicle, almost completely defined, has just completed. The PF0 will be built in Pininfarina, a historic site in Turin, and will be named "very evocative": to see it, you will have to wait for the next one. Geneva Motor Show. In the meantime, however, I can tell you about it.

Sister companies. For those who do not know it yet, Pininfarina and Automobili Pininfarina are two different companies, which share the same name. The reason for this dichotomy is quickly explained: thanks to this division, the former can maintain its operational independence by continuing to offer its engineering and, above all, its stylistic expertise to third-party companies. The second, however, is born from an unprecedented brand of 100% electric cars, destined to expand in the offering, which will gradually expand to different types of cars. His placement? Above marks like Tesla, more or less in the brilliant Olympus where Porsche resident, Aston Martin and the singer company. What does the Mahindra Indians have in all of this? In addition to being Pininfarina owners, they are also the main investors of Automobili Pininfarina.

Electric spirit. "The innovation that drives us is that of electrification: we could not have launched a new brand, looking to the future, with propulsion technology of the past"; then it would be the endothermic engines: so think Michael Perschke, CEO of Automobili Pininfarina. To do the PF0, the German manager also blamed Mate Rimac, founder of the society of the same name and considered by many as Elon Musk of the Mediterranean. This same Rimac, acquired 10% by Porsche: about Porsche, is the technical manager of Automobili Pininfarina, Christian Jung, former project manager of the Mission e.

Dizzying numbers. Today we know a lot of the technical data of the PF0: carbon body, active aerodynamics, power of nearly 2,000 HP, 2,300 Nm of torque, 0-100 in less than 2 seconds (0-300 by hour in less than 12), four electric motors and as many drive wheels with torque vectorization. However, the electric hypercar was also designed to be comfortable, as could be expected with a 18-19 GT quintal. So we are not talking about a featherweight, but: given propulsion technology applied, the result of balance seems very respectable. The goal of autonomy is more than 450 km, with the possibility of recharging batteries to 80% in 25 to 40 minutes, possibly using the Ionity fast charging network. That's all, indeed no: the maximum speed data should be greater than 350 per hour, but in Automobili Pininfarina, they are not looking for an absolute record in that sense. Also because the numbers related to acceleration are already quite impressive.

Hand-badembled in Cambiano. The PF0 will be 150 hand-badembled by Pininfarina men from Cambiano. Each of these cars will be virtually unique: the cars will be evenly split between the markets of Europe, the United States (where most of the production is already reserved) and Asia and the Arab Emirates. . In addition, the sale price will be for a few, very little: we are talking about 2 million euros. Still, asking for figures on a hypothetical PF0 spider, the answer goes through smiles full of hope. Meanwhile, not to be caught off guard by the appointment with the series production, which is expected to start in 2020, the Cambiano factory has been invested up to 20 million euros. , which will be used in the style management center and for the implementation of the vehicle itself.

A car "PURE". Purity, beauty, rarity: these are the conceptual pillars of Automobili Pininfarina, summarized in the name "PURA", exactly as the stylistic code of the Italian manufacturer wants. Because the PF0, without advanced technologies, "must above all be beautiful", as theorized by Battista Pininfarina, evoking the minimal requirement of a car designed in Cambiano. Under the direction of Luca Borgogno, Davide Amantea, exterior designer, Francesco Cundari, interior designer, and Sara Campagnolo, responsible for colors and materials, will meet the moral expectations of the Pininfarina family. The objective of the four Italian PF0 pencils (and models to come) is to find a perfect harmony between aesthetics and functionality, "without the former being necessarily subordinate to the second," Borgogno says.

Through my eyes. I've had the opportunity to see the car in preview: the proportions, as indicated by the teaser, seem to be those of a mid-engine supercar. The front cover has an acute profile and is formed by broken lines. The front lights are composed of two main elements, ideally connected by a "LED light", underpinned by an escape with carbon finishes that further accentuate the front profile. The side is very clean, with the bodywork that ideally opens like a rag on the rear wheels to generate the surfaces of the tail. The latter has a fairly new structure, an interesting integration between design, active aerodynamics and lights. The two "wings" that ideally cover the rear volume are seamless with the side panels and have a double retractable fin: the aerodynamic surfaces in question, even if they appear separately on the photos accompanying this article, will be the following on the final PF0 joined by a bridge of conjunction.

Interior between sportiness and functionality. The interior décor is resolutely "driver-focused": it seems a little "sitting in the badpit of a fighter jet, but finished like a Bentley. The vanishing point from which the horizontal lines of the dashboard coincide with the steering wheel, quadrangular appearance: it integrates the controls of the headlights and windshield wipers on two small selectors parallel to its two rays. The instrumentation is based on three elements: two "wide" touch screens, positioned laterally with respect to the steering wheel, and a small vertical screen, installed in the center. The latter displays essential driving information, while the other two are dedicated to infotainment and other technical parameters of the car. Near the driver's knees, there are two circular controls: the left is used to select the driving modes, the right to activate the clbadic programs D, N and R. Finally a note to remember that, I hope, will release the Most fundamentalist spirit heads: probably, the PF0 will not be "dumb" as one might expect from an electric car.

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