Pininfarina becomes automaker brand, plans to launch electric lineup

A little while ago we wrote about ItalDesign's Zerouno supercar, which is sold under the company's own brand name. Another design house, Pininfarina, will also become a carmaker brand, as it prepares to launch a hypercar with Mahindra investments backing it up.

Pininfarina's approach matches the plan mapped out by so many specialty carmakers: There will be a hypercar to bring in fame, and the fortune part will be covered by SUVs introduced underneath the halo vehicle. The difference is that they will all be electric.

Autocar says Pininfarina's electric hypercar, codenamed PF-Zero, will be based on a modular platform developed together with Croatian manufacturer Rimac and Mahindra's Formula E outfit. It's directly aimed at the Bugatti Chiron, only with electric power instead of an internal combustion engine, and the power output is targeted beyond the Chiron's 1,479 horsepower.

The SUVs will also be powerful, as the Urus-rivaling PF-One could get 940 hp. Two smaller crossovers to be introduced would have less power, but still enough to challenge the benchmarked Porsche Cayenne and Macan.

Autocar's information predicts the PF-Zero to be launched in 2020, and that the plans will be officially announced in a month. Mahindra is investing over $500 million into the Pininfarina lineup, with the four vehicles introduced over a span of five years.

At Geneva, Pininfarina displayed its H2 Speed hydrogen fuel cell supercar with 653 horsepower (pictured). Thirteen examples will be built, for track use only.