--- title: "This Road-Legal Electric “Hypercar” Is as Fast as a Bullet Train" description: "Italian carmaker Pininfarina just revealed the Battista at this year's Geneva Motor Show: a road-legal 1900 horsepower hypercar." date: "2019-03-05" modified: "2019-03-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/pininfarina-hypercar-battista" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "electric car" - "race car" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # This Road-Legal Electric “Hypercar” Is as Fast as a Bullet Train ![Italian carmaker Pininfarina just revealed the Battista at this year's Geneva Motor Show: a road legal 1900 horsepower hypercar.]() *\Image: Pininfarina\* ## The Battista The *[BBC ]()*[calls it]() "the fastest road car in the world." Italian automaker Pininfarina [just revealed]() a monster of an electric car at this year's Geneva Motor Show: the Battista — a road-legal electric supercar as fast as some bullet trains. https://twitter.com/odmag/status/1102820615768035329 The "Formula 1-inspired hypercar" is [being hailed]() as "the most powerful road-legal car ever designed and built in Italy," by its creators, and is slated to arrive in 2020. That's all thanks to the electric drivetrain: "a feat that would simply be impossible to achieve with internal combustion technology," according the company. The specs are seriously impressive: zero to 60 mph in less than two seconds, zero to 186 mph (300 km/h) in under 12, and a top speed of 217 mph (349 km/h) — which is as fast, for comparison, as the [maximum operating speed]() of some bullet trains. Specially designed motors on each wheel give the Battista a blistering 1900 horsepower — roughly twice the power of a Formula 1 racecar — and a substantial 120 kWh battery gives it a range of up to 280 miles (450 km). ## Roadster Vs. Battista The specs are reminiscent of Tesla's much-hyped Roadster, also expected in 2020. In November 2017, Tesla CEO [Elon Musk revealed]() that the Roadster will accelerate from zero to 60 in as little as 1.9 seconds with a total range of 600 miles (1,000 km). The roadster's top speed of 250 mph (400 km/h), according to Musk, will be even faster than the Battista. Only 150 Battistas will ever be made and they'll cost about $2.2 million dollars each — whereas the Roadster will cost only [about $200,000](). But we'll have to wait until car enthusiasts have a chance to battle it out for the title of the fastest ever road-legal hypercar. **READ MORE:** [Pininfarina’s Battista is a 1900-horsepower all-electric hypercar]() \[*Electrek*\] **More on hypercars:** *[Elon Musk Says An Upcoming Tesla Roadster Will Hover. Is He Joking?]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()