Pininfarina Battista, 2025 Robb Report Car of the Year 2nd Runner-Up

Although certain aspects of the automotive arts never seem to age, such as sculpted coachwork and tactile refinement, performance metrics can become quickly dated as they are relevant to the technological advances of the day. Yet it’s hard to imagine that being the case for one of our contenders. Reflective of the recent paradigm shift in output due largely to the adoption of battery power, the 22nd edition of Robb Report’s Car of the Year included the most powerful and exclusive automobile we’ve ever presented for consideration. Showcasing timeless styling cues paired with bleeding-edge engineering, the 1,900 hp Pininfarina Battista may have finished third in the overall rankings, but it was the Robb Report editorial team’s unanimous pick for apex automobile.  

The Battista’s inclusion in our annual contest is not without precedent. In 2015, we fielded the 900 hp Porsche 918 hybrid, and farther back, the 1,001 hp Bugatti Veyron 16.4 and its Grand Sport variant in 2007 and 2010, respectively. With the Battista, though, of which only 150 examples will be made, comparison even within the elite assemblage that included models from McLaren, Lotus, Bentley, and Aston Martin, proved challenging. As mentioned in our featured editorial recap of the event, “the overwhelming perception of the judges was that it belonged on a pedestal but not the podium, it being an unfair example of automotive exotica among the rest of the competition.”

For judge Richard Vanderbrook, it was a “different class of automobile for sure,” and Jeff Haber admitted; “Amazing supercar—hard to get my head around the capabilities of this vehicle.” Those sentiments make more sense once anyone has experienced time behind the wheel. With four independent electric motors, all juiced by a 120 kWh lithium-ion battery, the 5,247-pound Battista dispatches zero to 60 mph in 1.8 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 217 mph. The near-instant acceleration feels unrelenting and unlimited, sensations made more surreal by the accompaniment of relative silence.

Ballistic straight-line prowess, though, is not the benchmark that truly sets the Battista apart, as most EVs offer impressive athleticism in that department. Where Pininfarina’s carbon-fiber projectile shines is in balletic agility when it comes to lateral dynamics, as discovered during our slalom drills on track at the Concours Club in Opa-Locka, Fla. “Amazingly fast and nimble,” is how Franklin Zhao described the handling, while Lauren Burney, who noted that the car “accelerates faster than you can blink,” also found that it “hugs the corners like a dream.”

Such poise and precision are owed to the double-wishbone suspension and semi-active dampers, hair-trigger steering response—that seems to work on the subliminal level—and the latest stability control advancements all being translated to 20-inch forged aluminum wheels dressed in custom Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires. Key to the Battista’s muscle management are Brembo’s six-piston carbon-ceramic brakes that can bring the car from a speed of 62 mph to a complete stop in 101.7 feet.

Also fundamental to the Italian hypercar’s overall drive dynamics is the monocoque-chassis platform made of carbon fiber and shared by the 1,914 hp Rimac Nevera. “The rolling chassis is a codevelopment that we started five years ago with our partner Rimac,” Paolo Dellachà, CEO of Automobili Pininfarina, told Robb Report in 2023, adding that “many of the systems are common, although tuned specifically for us.” 

Where the Battista departs from its Rimac sibling is exterior styling, as it taps into the design house’s 94-year legacy, which includes coachwork for some of the most visually striking cars from the last century. In particular, design cues from the 1947 Cisitalia are put through a contemporary prism, resulting in an elegantly sculpted body with subtly integrated aero enhancements that, while not overly assertive in appearance (save for the rear wing), make possible a total of 1,102 pounds of downforce.

As for the cockpit, it’s an exercise in minimalism, with two 10.3-inch touchscreen displays flanking both sides of the steering wheel, a small telemetry screen in front, and a pair of selector knobs to navigate through the settings—that’s about it. This isn’t surprising, since it matches the focus of the car, an otherworldly drive experience with little else to distract the pilot. That doesn’t mean that, inside, the Battista eschews a sophisticated aesthetic, as the interior is defined by sumptuous leather and tasteful accents of carbon-fiber trim. “Not sure there are words to describe the feeling of simply sitting in the car,” said judge Lynn Dugas, and Preston Shepherd was “blown away by how nice the interior was.”

Despite the fact that Pininfarina has existed as a coachbuilder and design house for close to a century, this is the first car to solely wear the name and the first model introduced by its Automobili Pininfarina division, introduced in 2018. With such a limited number being built, and each priced starting at approximately $2.4 million, the Battista is a rarefied ride to be sure, but hopefully its combination of power and panache are a bellwether for what the industry’s electrified landscape has on the horizon. In the meantime, we can’t help but agree with Cynthia Madrid. “It feels effortless, controlled, and completely exhilarating,” she said of the hypercar. “It felt like I was driving the future.”

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Click here for more photos of the Pininfarina Battista hypercar.