All posts in “luxury”

Mahindra’s Automobili Pininfarina now officially a standalone EV brand

We first got word last month, and how we have the official announcement: Indian automaker Mahindra has launched Automobili Pininfarina as a new standalone sustainable luxury vehicle brand, with plans for a new electric hypercar in 2020.

The company will be a client of Italian design house Pininfarina SpA, known for its work with Ferrari and more recently for designing battery-electric concept vehicles for Hong Kong-based Hybrid Kinetic Group. Mahindra acquired a controlling stake in Pininfarina in 2015. It will be led by Michael Perschke, a 25-year auto industry veteran who was formerly managing director of Audi in India and a member of the management board of Volkswagen Group Sales India. Automobili Pininfarina will be based in Rome.

First up will be an electric car flagship that will go from 0-62 mph in less than 2 seconds and have a range of more than 300 miles, according to Automotive News Europe. Codenamed PF-Zero, its price will approach €2 million (U.S. $2.5 million). Mahindra says the new brand will borrow from its experience in the Formula E electric-car racing circuit.

Motor Authority reports the hypercar will also use technology developed by Rimac and that it will boast output of 1,500 horsepower, rivaling the Bugatti Chiron. It’ll be built in limited numbers, though future models, including SUVs and sedans, will be built in higher volumes.

Pininfarina most recently has been seen designing concept vehicles under the Hybrid Kinetic brand, most recently teasing the H500 sedan and K350 crossover ahead of their debuts in Beijing.

Separately, Pininfarina plans limited production of 12 units of its H2 Speed, its 653-horsepower hydrogen fuel cell track car that goes from 0-62 in 3.4 seconds, reportedly this year.

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Last of 500 allocated McLaren Sennas sells at auction

If you held any hope of obtaining the last available McLaren Senna, abandon it now: The last of the 500 build allocations has sold at a private auction for McLaren customers. It raised £2 million ($2.67 million) for the Ayrton Senna Institute, the nonprofit non-government organization named for the late three-time Formula One world champion.

The company announced the sale three days after the supercar’s official unveiling and four days after it was leaked during an early reveal party. Excluding taxes, the winning bid from an anonymous buyer was more than three times the U.K. list price for the car.

Originally dubbed the P15, McLaren says the Senna is the “most extreme” road car it has ever created, with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 generating 789 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. It’s also the lightest, at 2,641 pounds. It boasts a RCC II RaceActive Chassis Control hydraulic suspension and unique features like a Jetsons-esque glass greenhouse and glass panels in the doors.

Ayrton Senna won three F1 world championships driving for McLaren. The auction for McLaren customers was attended by his sister, Viviane Senna da Silva Lalli, and Bruno Senna, her son, also a race driver and McLaren ambassador.

The Ayrton Senna Institute provides education to underprivileged children in Brazil.

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Pope Francis gets a papal-themed Lamborghini Huracan

Lamborghini picked a special recipient for the newest and rarest version of its Huracán RWD, giving an ultra limited-edition version of the supercar to Pope Francis in a ceremony Wednesday at the Vatican attended by company executives.

The new Popemobile, it’s not. Fittingly, according to Catholic News Agency, it’s the seventh version of the Huracán, the Italian company’s entry-level model. It’s set to be auctioned at RM Sotheby’s on May 12, 2018, with orders from the Holy See to split the proceeds between three charitable causes: restoring villages on the Nineveh Plain in Iraq, helping victims of human trafficking and supporting missionary work in Africa.

The papal Huracán RWD is done in Monocerus white with Tiberio yellow stripes running along the hood, roof and body, reflecting the colors of the flag of Vatican City. It was blessed and autographed by the pontiff in the presence of Lamborghini Chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali, board members and two employees who helped build the car.

The Huracán is the successor to the Gallardo, Lamborghini’s best-selling model of all time, with a design inspired by the hexagonal form of the carbon atom. It’s powered by a naturally aspirated, 5.2-liter V10 that makes 602 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque. Normally, the sports car starts $199,800. But a version blessed and autographed by the pope? Priceless…

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