Pininfarina's first preview event for the PF0 electric supercar in Rome earlier this year and the latest showing at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the car lost its pop-up headlights. Yes, actual pop-up headlights, like those you remember from your favorite '80s and '90s dream cars. The movable covers that alternately hid and revealed the PF0's headlights were among its most distinctive features, but according to Pininfarina's head of design, Luca Burgogno, they could not be made to work with the dull realities of modern regulations.
We know of the headlights' demise because we were shown a full-size exterior styling model of the car at the 2018 Monterey Car Week that has expanded around the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The only hangup? The PF0 styling buck we saw was the same one displayed to potential customers at Pebble, and we weren't allowed to take pictures of the PF0. Apart from a single image of the rear of the car, we were given only figurative sketches to share with you. No matter; despite the widely acknowledged 1:1000 ratio between the effectiveness of pictures versus words, the Pininfarina creation can be summed up as handsome.
The PF0's adoption of conventional headlights gives its front end a Ferrari-like appearance, not unexpected given the lengthy shared history between Maranello and Pininfarina. (Ties between the two companies have diminished of late, now that Ferrari has built up its in-house design team.) A full-width LED light bar extends across the front end between the wide-set headlight elements, emphasizing the car's girth, while the clean side profile is minimally disrupted by small intakes to channel cooling air into the rear of the car. As we noted in April, nothing about the PF0 beyond the charging port located on the left-hand side at the front gives any clue that it runs on batteries rather than internal-combustion power.
Pininfarina's new image of the rear of the car shows off the split wing elements, pieces evocative of the little aero winglets on the Ferrari FXX K hypercar. Beneath those spoilers lives an "active" diffuser tray that moves up and down to adjust downforce. We also saw a digital animation of the PF0's doors opening, which revealed that they use a three-point mounting system similar to that in the McLaren 720S.
Beyond the styling preview, Pininfarina also released a smattering of fresh technical details. We already knew that the PF0 will use the same mechanical architecture as the Croatia-built Rimac C_Two, and now Pininfarina Automobili CEO Michael Perschke has confirmed that the PF0 will have the same peak power and torque figures as that car: 1888 horsepower and 1697 lb-ft of torque. He also said that the PF0 will be bigger than the average hypercar, measuring 7.8 inches longer than a Ferrari LaFerrari and 1.2 inches wider than a Lamborghini Aventador.
While we don't have corroboration on the PF0's other mechanical subtleties, it now seems a safe bet that it will also borrow the Rimac's 800-volt electrical architecture and 120.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Ditto the Rimac's oil-cooled quadrant of electric motors—each powering a single wheel—with the rears benefiting from individual two-speed gearboxes. At least in concept-car form, the PF0's front axle line is set surprisingly far back; we suspect that the electric motors up there will need to move off the axle's centerline to fit. We also expect that the Pininfarina will reach 60 mph in less than 2.0 seconds, 186 mph in less than 12 seconds, and a top speed north of 250 mph. On a full charge, the car should be capable of up to 310 miles of range. As with other EVS, using its full performance abilities will cut that range significantly.
The other surprising number that Pininfarina dropped at Pebble Beach? That the design house intends to build as many as 150 PF0s, 50 of which are slated for North America. In April we were told that production would be limited to 100 units. Pininfarina's Perschke said "the response [to the car] has exceeded all our expectations," although the company won't say how many firm orders have been placed. Pricing was described to us as landing "around $2 million." We'll learn more when the PF0 is publicly uncovered at the 2019 Geneva auto show next March.
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