Pininfarina Battista becomes the world's fastest-accelerating car

Pininfarina’s electric Battista has become the fastest-accelerating production car in the world. The electric, 1,873-horsepower hypercar set a quarter-mile and a half-mile record on a test track in India, and it also earned the honor of being the fastest car driven on Indian soil.

The coachbuilder turned carmaker teamed up with the Indian arm of British magazine Autocar to set both records on the NATRAX circuit. Hormazd Sorabjee, the publication’s editor, clocked an 8.55-second quarter-mile time and a 13.38-second half-mile time, figures that cement the Battista’s spot in the record book. He reached a top speed of 222.4 miles per hour (358 kilometers per hour) on the track.

Renuka Kirpalani, a writer for the Indian edition of Autocar, reached 221.8 mph (357 kph) and became the fastest Indian woman driver during the same test session. All of these records were verified with a VBOX data logger system, according to Pininfarina. The company adds that the top speed test was performed with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires while Cup 2R tires were fitted for the acceleration tests.

“It’s like being shot from a cannon,” Sorabjee summed up.

This isn’t the first time that speed has propelled the Battista to stardom. Fitted with four electric motors and related to the Rimac Nevera, the coupe reached 60 mph from a stop in 1.79 seconds on the Nardò test track in Italy in 2022. It also reached 120 mph in 4.49 seconds. It’s interesting to note that the Nevera’s quarter-mile time is slightly slower: it clocked an 8.58-second time on a German track in 2021.