Pure electric automobiles possess a number of inherent advantages in raw performance over their internal combustion engine counterparts, not the least of which is the fact that the torque is virtually instantaneous, and there is little in the way of parasitic losses of power and torque between the electric motor itself and the surface of the road.

For these reasons, and because of the sheer horsepower output of many of the world’s more exotic and highly-engineered new supercars, electric vehicles have taken a stranglehold on the rankings of the world’s quickest accelerating vehicles. And that includes, of course, the 1/4-mile.

The latest entrant to this list is the Battista by Automobili Pininfarina, a $2.2 million hypercar that recently clocked the second-quickest 1/4-mile time ever by a production automobile, at 8.55 seconds, which trails only the Rimac Nevera (8.52), a vehicle for which it is closely related, by the slimmest of margins. But Automobili Pininfarina engineers and test drivers didn’t stop at a quarter of a mile, legging the car out to a 1/2-mile record of 13.38 seconds at the NATRAX high-speed testing facility in Godgaon, India.

In 2022, the Battista set a slew of other records at its test base in Nardò, Italy, going 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in 1.79 seconds, 0-120 mph in 4.49 seconds, 0-200 kmh (124.27 mph) in 4.79 seconds, and a 0-300 km/h (186.41 mph) time of just 10.49 seconds.

The car has also recorded a top speed of 222.47, confirming it’s power and torque are by no means a low-end-only affair. And on top of its impressive performance, Automobili Pininfarina claims its range to be 296 miles (476 km) on a single charge.

The Battista is built by Automobili Pininfarina GmbH, a German-based design firm with roots in Italian car design, which has designed 64 models of Ferrari automobiles over the decades. The production form of the Battista, originally shown to the world as a concept car in 2018, was made possible through an investment from Pininfarina’s owners, Indian automaker and business conglomerate Mahindra.

Rather than invest in the costly development of a new car from the ground-up, Pininfarina turned to the proven platform developed by Rimac Automobili, utilizing its carbon-fiber monocoque chassis and aluminum crash structures, as well as it powertrain. It sports a 120 kWh T-shaped battery pack, with four individual motors placed at each wheel and distributing the power equally through a unique, sophisticated torque vectoring system tuned by Automobili Pininfarina’s engineers at the carmaker’s development facility in Italy.

The combined power output is 1400 kW and 2300 Nm of torque, or roughly the equivalent of 1,900 horsepower and 2,340 Nm torque.

It features a fully adjustable suspension, carbon ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers, and an active rear wing that can even act as an airbrake to improve stopping power.

Each car is hand-built at the Pininfarina facility located in Cambiano, Italy. Production of the Battista began in 2022, with a limit of just 150 units that will be equally allocated among prospective buyers from North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

“In 2022 we began production of Battista at our new Atelier facility in Italy, with deliveries to customers worldwide starting soon after,” Paolo Dellachà, Automobili Pininfarina CEO said. “This year, new Battista owners are excited to explore the unprecedented performance of this design and engineering masterpiece. These speed records – and independent tests – have validated our ambition to create a new generation of hyper and luxury car leading with Battista, whereby electric power delivers performance that is simply unachievable in the world of ICE powertrains.”

“For Hormazd and his Autocar India team to showcase what is possible with Battista in their hands is hugely important. We conceived Battista as a hyper GT – a special blend of beautiful design and attention to detail synonymous with the Pininfarina brand, allied to extreme electrified performance and a level of vehicle dynamics which sets a new benchmark among hypercars. In these tests Battista has shown that record-breaking performance is there to be enjoyed by every driver on road or track.”