Mahindra-owned Pininfarina to develop electric sports car: Report

Mahindra & Mahindra-owned Italian car design firm and coachbuilder Pininfarina is reportedly working towards an electric sports car. Mahindra currently runs a factory team in the FIA Formula-e championship that uses only electric-powered cars. The technologies developed for the race car are expected to trickle down to the sports car, reports Autocar UK.

"Design plays a critical part in designing vehicles in such a way that they are robust yet pollute the least while giving you the thrill that people want in vehicles," Autocar UK quoted Pravin Shah, president and CEO (automotive) at M&M, as saying. "With the world-renowned design house to Mahindra's portfolio, alongside its existing Tech Mahindra information technology arm, meant the company would be able to differentiate itself within the automotive industry," he added.

Pininfarina showcased a high-performance track car based on hydrogen fuel cell technology christened the H2 Speed at the 86th Geneva Motor Show in March. The show was in association with GreenGT, a Franco-Swiss company that has been designing, developing and producing sustainable propulsion systems since 2008. The H2 Speed concept marks Pininfarina's wide-ranging approach for its future vehicles.

M&M reached an agreement with Pininfarina December last year. As part of the deal, Tech Mahindra and Mahindra & Mahindra purchased 76.06 percent of Pininfarina shares from the current controlling shareholder Pincar S.r.l. The acquisition process will be completed by June 2016. Cambiano-based Pininfarina, which is known for custom-car-designing, has designed special models for Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Fiat, GM, Lancia and Maserati.