Michael Jordan Revealed As The Owner Of Pininfarina’s 1,900-HP Hypercar
His Airness is the first person to commission a bespoke electric vehicle from Automobili Pininfarina.
When it comes to one-offs, automakers like Rolls-Royce and Bugatti generally don’t reveal the identities of the customers behind their most exclusive creations. Automobili Pininfarina is bucking this trend in naming the man responsible for its first client-commissioned coach-built car: Michael Jordan. Not that there was much hope for anonymity in the first place—the world’s most famous basketball player would be recognized immediately behind the wheel of a Ford Focus, never mind a roofless electric hypercar.
His Airness is evidently fond of the 1,900-horsepower Pininfarina Battista, which has previously staked claims to the world’s fastest accelerating car and Italy’s fastest car period. But Jordan is also an avid classic car collector who’s owned several Ferrari Testarossas, which were also designed by Pininfarina. So, the brand dug deep into its coachbuilding roots and used the one-off 1986 Ferrari Testarossa Spider, created for former Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli, as a reference for Jordan’s Battista Targamerica. The silver exterior, subtle blue and black detailing, five-spoke center-capped aluminum rims and horizontal feature lines on the rear luggage compartment are all references to Agnelli’s topless TR.
Jordan also ordered a bespoke tailored luggage set that’s finished in the same classic tan leather that upholsters the seats inside. And if there was a single detail that screams MJ, it’s definitely the aluminum and glass cigar humidor that’s built into the space between the the two seats.
“The Battista Targamerica is at the frontier of design. An exceptional vehicle that stands at the vanguard of performance and luxury,” said chief design officer Dave Amantea. “The gauntlet was thrown down for us to create something that uniquely represents the personality of this vehicle’s owner. This is the service we provide to clients, and the team has more than delivered. The result is our first coach-built one-off vehicle, a Targa that bears the badge of Automobili Pininfarina. Battista Targamerica will forever stand as a one-of-its-kind vehicle and will never be repeated.”