Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra on Wednesday, 27 May 2026, shared a personal account of the commitment he made to the late Paolo Pininfarina when Mahindra acquired Pininfarina SpA — and declared that a recent design award for the all-electric Battista hyper GT represents the fulfilment of that promise.

Context

In his post, Mahindra recalled assuring Paolo Pininfarina — then chairman of the storied Italian design house and grandson of its founder — that the acquisition would honour the family's nearly century-old legacy. 'A car that would be unmistakably modern, yet remain true to a 95-year legacy of timeless design,' Mahindra wrote, describing the ambition that drove the creation of Automobili Pininfarina. The result was the Battista, an all-electric, Italian-crafted hyper GT named after Battista Pininfarina, the marque's founder.

Mahindra Group acquired a controlling stake in Pininfarina SpA in 2015, marking one of the most significant European acquisitions by an Indian industrial house in the automotive design space. Automobili Pininfarina was subsequently established in 2018 as a dedicated electric-vehicle subsidiary to develop the Battista and carry the brand into a new era of performance motoring.

Performance benchmarks

The Battista's credentials extend well beyond aesthetics. According to Mahindra's post, the car set production car world records, accelerating from 0 to 300 kph in just 10.49 seconds, with a quarter-mile time of 8.55 seconds. The 1,900 hp machine has redefined what a road-legal electric vehicle can achieve on a straight-line run.

In 2023, automotive journalist Hormazd Sorabjee piloted the Battista at the NATRAX high-speed track near Indore, clocking a top speed of 358.03 kph — setting a new speed record on Indian soil. In the same session, Renuka Kirpalani reached 357.10 kph, becoming the fastest Indian woman on record. NATRAX, the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project facility, is India's premier high-speed proving ground and has become a benchmark venue for performance validation.

Policy backdrop

The Battista project sits at the intersection of India's industrial ambition and the global pivot to electrification. Indian conglomerates have increasingly used targeted European acquisitions to secure design and engineering expertise, while simultaneously repositioning themselves in premium, technology-intensive segments. The Mahindra-Pininfarina story is among the most visible examples of this strategy, moving well beyond mass-market vehicle manufacturing into globally recognised luxury performance.

India's broader push to develop domestic automotive testing infrastructure — exemplified by NATRAX near Indore — has also enabled world-class record attempts to be conducted on home soil, lending credibility to Indian-linked performance milestones on a global stage.

What's next

Mahindra described the design award — the specific award referenced in the post — as 'the final affirmation' of the promise made to Paolo Pininfarina. The chairman's framing suggests the recognition is as much a personal milestone as a corporate one, honouring a commitment made to a family that has shaped automotive aesthetics for nearly a century. Automobili Pininfarina is expected to build on the Battista platform as it considers further model launches and production scaling. The company's trajectory will be closely watched by both the global EV industry and Indian investors tracking the Mahindra Group's premium international ambitions.