Pininfarina Reportedly to Collaborate With Rivian

You might already be familiar with Pininfarina, the much-lauded coachbuilder. Rather than keep playing the same game, the company is striking out as an automaker called Automobili Pininfarina. Its first vehicle reportedly will be a monstrous 1990-horsepower all-electric hypercar called the PFO.

While that’s a great way to strike out into the marketplace, Pininfarina knows the order of the day is crossovers. With that in mind, the automaker will then launch three all-electric crossovers, likely a subcompact, compact, and midsize models. The first will use the same platform as the upcoming Rivian R1T truck and R1S SUV.

Considering Rivian says both its new models can do 0-60 mph in 3 seconds flat, the future Pininfarina PF1 or the first of the crossovers, should be at least that quick.

Work on the Pininfarina PF1 has already begun, meaning that the ultra-secretive Rivian has been busy behind the scenes. At the very least, Rivian and Pininfarina’s owner, Mahindra & Mahindra, together have been keeping a free flow of information when nobody else knew what the Michigan automaker was doing. It’s even possible Mahindra & Mahindra helped with the design of Rivian’s platform, although that likely isn’t the case.

This news adds more legitimacy to Rivian, a startup electric automaker some have tried to dismiss as vaporware. If the young company is already striking deals with established car companies, it’s one to definitely watch.

We should see the fruits of this collaboration, the Pininfarina PF1, sometime in 2021.

Source: AutoCar India