Pininfarina brand could be used for electric supercar range
Pininfarina could expand beyond its current work as a design contractor, and become a supercar marque in its own right.
Anand Mahindra, the Mahindra Group’s chairman, told MarketWatch, “We’re exploring right now the potential of building an electric supercar, which will be branded Pininfarina”.
If this car gets the go ahead, it will be targeted at the American market first, with the possibility for Chinese sales further down the track.
It’s not known if this vehicle will be related to the Pininfarina H2 Speed concept, pictured above and below, presented at the 2016 Geneva motor show.
The H2 featured a hydrogen fuel cell stack and two electric motors generating a total of 370kW. It had a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 300km/h.
Should Mahindra’s electric supercar dreams become a reality, it won’t be Pininfarina’s first foray into manufacturing. The Italian company used to include a contract manufacturing division, which major car makers would tap to produce small run and speciality vehicles.
The Indian conglomerate bought a controlling stake in Pininfarina in 2016 after the famed design house spent most of the last decade wallowing in red ink.
Above: New Ssangyong Rexton.
Mahindra is hoping to expand its presence to China and enter the American market. The company is currently considering whether it should launch its Ssangyong crossover and SUV brand in the USA, with a decision due within the next three years.
Before that, Ssangyong hopes to make a significant move into China. Last year it signed a joint venture agreement with the Shaanxi Automobile Group, and will decide before July whether it will build vehicles in the world’s most populous nation. Doing so would help the company get around China’s stiff import tariffs and lower the price of its vehicles.
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