All posts in “Green Automakers”

Pininfarina Battista hypercar’s output specified at 1,873 horsepower

Even in a galaxy far, far away, the Pininfarina Battista would stand out.

After a delay of about three years, the official specifications of the all-electric hypercar have been revealed:

  • Full power is rated at 1,873 horsepower, outputting 1,697 foot-pounds of torque.
  • Sixty-two miles per hour arrives in 1.86 seconds, with 124 mph coming in 4.75 seconds.
  • 217 mph is the estimated top speed. (The Rimac Nevera recently hit 258.)
  • The 120kWh battery pack should enable a range of about 280 miles from a single charge.

A pair of electric motors are mounted to each axle, each motor powering a specific wheel and giving the Battista full torque vectoring capability.

Pricing — and this is one of those cars that, if one has to ask, just move on — is about $2.2 million, which places it in the territory of the Bugatti Chiron. For those customers considering an upsell, a limited “anniversario” edition will comprise five of the expected 150-unit build run. It differs from the standard version by some cosmetic alterations, which lifts the price by some $70,000-plus. 0r you could buy a BMW M3 as a chase car.

The two-seater Battista is named for Battista “Pinin” Farina, who founded Carrozzeria Pininfarina in 1930. A lot of its battery, carbon-fiber chassis and motor components come from Rimac, the nascent Croatian electric supercar maker that recently paired with Porsche to take over Bugatti

Many more details about the car’s development, several photos and our driving impressions can be found in this Autoblog post from August.

2022 New York Auto Show, and Subaru Solterra driven | Autoblog Podcast #725

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Aston Martin Valhalla is ready to Ragnarok with 937 plug-in horsepower

The Aston Martin Valhalla is here. The company’s first series-production, mid-engine monster packs 937 plug-in hybrid horsepower in a lightweight carbon fiber chassis. This 217-mph hypercar is expected to run a 6:30 lap around the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Originally, the hopeful Ferrari killer was referred to as Project 003. It was later renamed Valhalla and was on track to make its debut with an in-house, 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 – the first engine Aston developed in-house since a 5.3-liter V8 entered production in 1969. After Daimler increased its stake in the British luxury builder in 2020, those plans went out the window. 

Rather than an in-house V6, the Valhalla will now be powered by a customized AMG Black series V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain. The twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter flat-plane-öcrank V8 makes a respectable 740 horsepower all on its own. Two electric motors combine for an additional 201. That should add up to 941, not 937; we’re assuming a few stray horses drowned crossing the Great Sea of Unit Conversion. 

The engine and motors are paired to a unique eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox that has no physical reverse gear. Instead, the electric motors are run the opposite direction to simulate a backward gear, saving both weight and complexity in the gearbox. This is mated to an advanced torque vectoring all-wheel drive system can send 100% of available electric power to either the front or rear axles.

Aston Martin says it will do 0-60 in just 2.5 seconds on the way to a 217 mph top speed. Around town, it can also cruise in electric-only mode for up to 9 miles up to a speed of 80 mph, but we suspect you’ll deplete the battery much more quickly than that if you floor it up to its top EV speed. 

“Preserving the essence of an exceptional concept car is vital when meeting the challenge of bringing it into production,” said CEO Tobias Moers. “With Valhalla not only have we stayed true to our commitment to build a world-beating supercar, but we have exceeded our original aims. The result is a pure driving machine — one which exists right at the cutting edge of performance and technology yet allows the driver to feel the emotion and thrill of complete connection and control.”

Its carbon fiber body construction makes it ultra-light (just 3,417 pounds, which is nothing for a PHEV) and super rigid. Its adaptive spring and damper suspension was developed with Multimatic, and like most modern supercars it offers adjustable ride height and a front-axle lift system for clearing troublesome obstacles. The aero was inspired by (and in some ways borrowed from) F1 and produces 600 kg (1,322 pounds) of downforce at 150 mph. 

While this may be a series-production model, don’t expect to see too many of them around town. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if they’re all already spoken for. Stay tuned for more details as Aston Martin ramps toward production and reveals more details about the Valhalla’s driving experience. 

Related video:

Rimac inks deal to purchase 55% of Bugatti from VW Group

ZAGREB, Croatia — Croatian electric supercar builder Rimac is taking over the iconic French manufacturer Bugatti in a deal that is reported to be worth millions of euros.

Rimac said Germany’s Volkswagen Group, including the Porsche division — which owns a majority stake in Bugatti — plans to create a new joint venture. The new company will be called Bugatti-Rimac.

Rimac Automobili announced Monday that it will be combining forces with Bugatti to “create a new automotive and technological powerhouse.”

Rimac has progressed in 10 years from a one-man garage startup to a successful company that produces electric supercars. Mate Rimac, who founded the company in 2009, says the venture is an “exciting moment” and calls the combination of the companies “a perfect match for each other.”

Porsche will own 45% of Bugatti-Rimac while Rimac Automobili will hold the remaining 55% stake, according to Croatian media reports. Financial details of the deal were not published.

Bugattis will continue to be assembled in eastern France, where the company was established in 1909. The vehicles will use engines developed and made in Croatia.

“In an industry evolving at ever-increasing speed, flexibility, innovation and sustainability remain at the very core of Rimac’s operations,” the company said. “Uniting Rimac’s technical expertise and lean operations with Bugatti’s 110-year heritage of design and engineering prowess represents a fusion of leading automotive minds.”

AMG lays out an electrification roadmap with high-performance hybrids at its core

Mercedes-Benz has lifted the sheet off its new modular AMG E Performance hybrid powertrain, giving us our first in-depth look at the electrified system that will power the company’s future high-performance models. Borrowing tech from the AMG Project One and its recent line of mild-hybrid gasoline engines, the new E Performance powertrain represents a significant evolution of the AMG formula. 

This new modular powertrain pairs a rear-mounted electric drive unit to a turbocharged gasoline engine. The electric motor drives the rear axle directly, but power can be sent to the front axle (essentially the same way it is transferred from the gasoline engine to the rear, just in reverse), thanks to AMG’s advanced all-wheel drive system.

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In its most basic form, the electric drive unit comprises a 6.1-kWh battery pack and an electric motor producing up to 201 horsepower. Thanks to its holistic electrification strategy, both the company’s platforms and this new powertrain were engineered with plug-in tech in mind, which we expect to see introduced at the higher end of the performance spectrum first, such as in the rumored AMG GT 73e, which is expected to utilize an E Performance variant capable of producing up to 804 horsepower and more than 738 pound-feet of torque. 

While the ICE engine up front is of a fairly conventional design, be it an inline-four or V8, it does incorporate one notable new element: an electric turbocharger. Mercedes has dabbled in electric boosting with its 48-volt mild hybrid powertrains, but this represents a fairly significant evolution of the tech. 

At its core, it’s still an exhaust-powered turbine, but at lower engine speeds and throttle openings, it will be juiced by electricity from the E Performance hybrid’s battery, spooling it instantly and effectively eliminating any potential turbo lag. In this capacity, it eliminates the need for additional (or more complex) turbochargers to smooth out power delivery at different engine speeds. 

Apart from the inclusion of electric power, AMG’s powertrain remains fairly conventional. Power from the engine goes through a nine-speed, multi-clutch automatic gearbox on its way to all four wheels, thanks to a 4Matic all-wheel drive system designed to harness both power sources. Torque can be vectored to all four corners from both the gasoline engine and electric drive unit, meaning even the front wheels can benefit from electric power under the right slip conditions. In typical AMG fashion, the advantages of this tech will be integrated into its cars’ available drive modes.

AMG has not yet confirmed individual power outputs for its new line of E Performance hybrids, but given its habits, we’re skeptical that there will be any regression in the performance of models whose powertrains get the hybrid treatment. This includes the enthusiast-favorite C-Class AMG lineup, which will pair the 2.0-liter engine from the smaller 45-series AMGs with the new electric drive unit, for a total expected output that should easily eclipse the current C63’s 503-horse figure.

Henrik Fisker interview, and driving the Polestar 2 | Autoblog Podcast #643

In this week’s Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. They’ve been driving the updated 2021 Honda Odyssey, the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 and the new Polestar 2 electric sedan. After reviewing those, they talk about how the Chrysler 300 appears to be withering on the vine. Next, they take time to talk to legendary automotive designer and eponymous Chairman & CEO of Fisker Inc., Mr. Henrik Fisker himself, about jeans, horses and, of course, electric cars. Finally, they help a listener pick a $100,000 supercar in the “Spend My Money” segment.

Autoblog Podcast #643

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