Over the previous decade or so the world of ultra-luxury vehicles has seen the rejuvenation of coachbuilding, the place clients fee particular one-off vehicles with completely customized designs (and typically engineering options). Many such vehicles are showcased throughout Monterey Automobile Week, which is the place Automobili Pininfarina has staged the debut of the world’s first coachbuilt electrical automotive, the Battista Targamerica.
The Targamerica was commissioned by a “famend automotive collector” who already owns a typical Battista, with Pininfarina saying it’s “an entire expression of its proprietor’s character reflecting their individuality and historical past, their tastes, pursuits and distinctive life story.” The undertaking was began throughout final yr’s Automobile Week, taking nearly precisely a yr, and as you may need gleaned from the title, it’s principally a Battista hypercar with no roof.
Pininfarina says a lot of the Targamerica’s design was impressed by the 1986 Ferrari Testarossa Spider that was created to rejoice Gianni Agnelli’s twentieth yr of being Chairman of Fiat, together with utilizing an analogous coloration scheme. The Targamerica is painted Argento Liquido Gloss, which is properly accented by Iconica Blu Gloss stripes alongside the decrease physique. The underside of the rear wing has hand-painted blue pinstripes that look very cool, and the ceramic-polished wheels are particular to the Targamerica as properly. Clearly, the largest design change is that there’s no roof, and the Targamerica has a singular rear deck with horizontal louvers, one other nod to the Testarossa. In any other case, the design is principally the identical as the usual Battista.
The inside is swathed in supple tan leather-based with a black steering wheel and dashboard, and the headrests have an embossed model emblem. One of many silliest particulars is discovered within the bulkhead between the seats. That customized aluminum and glass case is a cigar humidor and holder, sufficiently big to carry three cigars and back-lit to match the colours of the Battista’s completely different drive modes. There’s additionally a set of bespoke matching baggage that’s embossed with the Targamerica’s silhouette.
Pininfarina doesn’t give too many particulars in regards to the Targamerica’s efficiency, solely saying that it has the identical 120-kWh battery pack and set of 4 electrical motors that produce 1,900 horsepower and 1,726 pound-feet of torque as the usual Battista. The Targamerica is alleged to hit 60 mpg in below two seconds and attain a prime pace of over 186 mph (a standard Battista will hit over 220 mph).
That is the primary coachbuilt electrical automotive, nevertheless it’s actually not going to be the final, particularly not from Pininfarina. Final yr the model revealed the B95, a limited-run speedster primarily based on the Battista, and the group is definitely engaged on different few-off and completely customized fashions. With Rolls-Royce already within the EV sport, and different high-end firms following go well with, we’re shortly getting into the subsequent chapter of the trendy coachbuilding period.
