{"id":127703,"date":"2018-07-10T14:28:36","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T18:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=127703"},"modified":"2018-07-10T16:41:52","modified_gmt":"2018-07-10T20:41:52","slug":"italian-design-house-pinfarina-reveals-1st-teaser-of-new-electric-luxury-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2018\/07\/italian-design-house-pinfarina-reveals-1st-teaser-of-new-electric-luxury-car\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Design House Pinfarina Reveals 1st Teaser of New Electric Luxury Car"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Automobili Pininfarina revealed PF0 concept design images ahead of private client viewings of the all-electric ultra-luxury hypercar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Italian design house Pininfarina has gone through plenty of changes in recent years, starting with a financial meltdown and its acquisition by India\u2019s Mahindra & Mahindra. In April, the renamed Automobile Pininfarina announced plans to become a luxury auto brand focused on electric vehicles, and it\u2019s now offering up a teaser image of what it will officially debut less than two months from now.<\/p>\n

The rendering you see here of what will be called the PF0 was accompanied by an announcement that Pininfarina has appointed its first Board of Directors. That includes long-time automotive insider Michael Perschke, who will serve as the start-up carmaker\u2019s chief executive officer. Former Volvo exec Per Svantesson has been named Automobili Pininfarina\u2019s chief operating officer.<\/p>\n

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Plug In!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Automobili Pininfarina is a pioneering new business created to service the most discerning clients in the world,\u201d said Perschke, in a prepared statement \u201cOur product portfolio will launch with an innovative, zero-emissions hypercar that represents the progression we aim to make at the pinnacle of the luxury and sports car market.”<\/p>\n

What, exactly, Pininfarina has in the works is unclear. But Perschke\u2019s reference to a \u201cproduct portfolio\u201d clearly suggests that the PFO will be just the first new model to come from the Italian subsidiary of India\u2019s Mahindra.<\/p>\n

(Bugatti confirms rumors of “strictly limited” new model. <\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for the story.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Pininfarina produced a number of striking show cars, such as the distinctive Hidra.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Earlier indications are that Pininfarina will follow PF0 with at least three high-performance electric SUVs set to challenge products like the Lamborghini Urus, as well as the Porsche Cayenne and Macan.<\/p>\n

Pinfarina has wanted to reach beyond design for a number of years and, as recently as 2013, was working with Ferrari on a special project, as well as Volvo on the C70. But things fell apart quickly and it looked like the company would disappear, at least until Mahindra became its white knight in 2015.<\/p>\n

Going forward, the company \u2013 which is now being run from Munich \u2013 will continue to serve as a design and consulting boutique enterprise. But, if all goes according to plan, we\u2019ll see the the PF0 \u2013 short for PF-Zero \u2013 sometime around 2020.<\/p>\n

The company has already suggested that it will be an all-electric \u2013 thus zero-emissions \u2013 hypercar. We\u2019ve also learned that Pininfarina will be working with Rimac, the Croatian EV hypercar company, on the PF0\u2019s powertrain. Some engineering expertise will also come from the Mahindra Racing Formula E team that has managed to nab a few victories in that electric-car race series.<\/p>\n

Rimac would certainly be an interesting partner. Its original model, the Concept One, pumped out 1088 horsepower and weighed just 4,079 pounds \u2013 fairly significant figures for a long-range, high-performance EV. In April, it debuted the Concept Two. This electric hypercar, making 1,914 horsepower and 1,696 pound-feet of torque will get you from 0 to 60 in just 1.85 seconds and blow through a quarter mile in 9.1 seconds. Top speed is said to be 258 mph.<\/p>\n

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Pininfarina also had a hand in the design of the Rimac Concept Two.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Combining Rimac\u2019s electric expertise with Pininfarina\u2019s design skills \u2013 and Mahindra\u2019s fat wallet \u2013 could yield a truly impressive package. Earlier statements by Pininfarina hint at a top speed of 250 mph for the PF0, while range will be somewhere north of 300 miles \u2013 at more conservative speeds, of course.<\/p>\n

(<\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for more about McLaren reaching into the past for its new 600LT.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A select group of customers and potential dealers have already been given a sneak look at what Pininfarina is calling \u201cearly PF0 dreams.\u201d It\u2019s not clear if those included anything more than renderings like the one shown here, however.<\/p>\n

Now, we\u2019ll be getting a look at a full-sized version of the electric hypercar at the Pebble Beach Concours d\u2019Elegance late next month.<\/p>\n

But even if you have the cash you\u2019ll still have to wait to actually take delivery. The PF0 isn\u2019t expected to reach production until sometime in 2020.<\/p>\n

What might come after the PF0? Perschke was all hyperbole in his first statement as Automobili Pininfarina\u2019s new CEO, declaring that, \u201cThis team is completely focused on delivering ground-breaking, highly desirable vehicles through a business strategy which will see Automobili\u00a0Pininfarina become the most sustainable luxury automotive business in the world\u201d<\/p>\n

Tesla and a few other entrants into the electric luxury market might take exception, of course. But what\u2019s clear is that, with Mahindra\u2019s backing, Pininfarina has unleashed its ambition and now has the resources to follow through.<\/p>\n

(To see more about Magna building the new Toyota Supra, BMW Z4, <\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mahindra itself has long wanted to grow beyond India\u2019s borders and, in the process, challenge its bigger Indian rival Tata Motors, which now owns Jaguar Land Rover. Mahindra\u2019s own global ambitions didn\u2019t pan out when it first announced plans to introduce a retail network in the U.S. early in the decade. It recently shifted gears, launching a small assembly plant in the Detroit suburbs building off-road utility vehicles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After years of financial struggles, Italian design house Pininfarina is benefitting from the stability of being acquired by Mahindra & Mahindra. The result of that is the new PF0, an battery-electric concept, that will get some private showings during the Pebble Beach Concours. To get the details, go to TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,5],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[286,150,151,287,160,289,132,284,290,288],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127703"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127703"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=127703"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=127703"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=127703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}