Driving the Pininfarina Battista is “out of this world” says former F1 ace
German Nick Heidfeld is no stranger to speed, having spent over decade in Grand Prix racing, but even he was taken aback by the pace of the 1900-hp Pininfarina Battista.
“It’s out of this world, like nothing I’ve experienced before,” says the man who raced for Prost, Jordan, Williams, Sauber, and Lotus in Formula 1, and narrowly missed the podium at Le Mans.
Heidfeld has been involved with the Battista since the beginning of the project, but a recent outing at the high-speed Nardò test track in Italy was his first time behind the wheel of the all-wheel-drive electric hypercar.
“What really surprised me was how natural the Battista feels on the track,” says Heidfeld. “We are creating a hyper GT to be enjoyed at all speeds, yet here in Nardò the cornering control and speed we achieved were exceptional. Minimal traction control and torque vectoring are active at this stage of prototype development, yet there is so much grip to exploit. The acceleration of Battista is on another level to even the world’s fastest road cars.”
“I have to say, that very honestly, driving the Battista prototype far exceeded my expectations. It’s like nothing I have experienced ever before. I can’t wait to try the Battista away from the track, chasing corners on mountain roads.”
The first of 150 Battistas is set to be delivered later in 2021 to buyers paying $2.5 million for the privilege. Somehow we doubt that any of them will dare drive their Battistas quite like “Quick Nick” Heidfeld.
