WE JUST WITNESSED A CHANGE OF GUARD AT THE GENEVA MOTOR SHOW 2019
– By Anand Mohan
When you look back at the history of the automobile industry after a few decades in the future, 2019 will stand out as a year that saw a monumental shift in the way cars were presented to the world. Especially the Geneva Motor Show, where we have for the first time seen serious intent by every manufacturer to offer functional, attainable electric vehicles. As has been the way of this industry, every new technology comes from the top step of the pyramid, the supercar, and we’ve just seen how a small Croatian carmaker and engineering company is leading the charge. Here are the cars and companies you need to keep a close eye on in the very near future.
Named after the legendary car designer and the first car from the new all-electric hypercar manufacturer owned by an Indian company (Mahindra), the Battista is sex on wheels. Doing justice to its maker’s name would be a tough act, knowing that half a generation of Ferrari cars were designed by the company that bears this name. However, the benefits of a low-set electric powertrain have been fully utilized. Packaging the car in classic supercar proportions is easier with an electric powertrain and since the unit comes from Rimac, Pinifarina Automobili only had to put its minds together to get the design and engineering sorted.
Rimac’s powerplant is a no-brainer. It comes with mind-blowing numbers – 1900bhp, 2300Nm and a 0-100kmph run in just under two seconds. It will top out at 349kmph, however the time taken to reach its top speed will put you under some serious G-forces. We don’t know if the tyres will be able to take such violent acceleration or if it will be easy to drive on public roads yet. Only time will tell, however what the Battista shows is that Rimac is a driving force here.
