If Batman’s true identity, Bruce Wayne, existed in real life, what car would you think he’d drive? Boutique electric hypercar builder Automobili Pininfarina has teamed up with Wayne Enterprises – a luxury brand based on the Batman franchise developed by Warner Brothers, to create four different bespoke EVs that will be produced in limited quantities and sold to consumers with pockets as deep as master Wayne’s.
Automobili Pininfarina is the all-electric rebirth of the original Pininfarina S.p.A. brand, founded in Italy in 1930. Since its 2018 renaissance, the Italian brand (which now operates out of Germany) has delivered some genuinely one-of-a-kind electric hypercars to gawk at.
Earlier this month, Automobili Pininfarina unveiled a third variant called the Battista Reversario, which can accelerate 0-60 mph in 1.79 seconds. Pininfarina’s BEVs all look like something Batman would drive, or at the very least, something the caped crusader’s true identity, Bruce Wayne, would cruise around Gotham City in.
In addition to the Battista, Automobili Pininfarina has launched another model called the B95 Barchetta—a topless hypercar that currently reigns as the most expensive BEV on the planet. It’s definitely Bruce Wayne material.
DC Comics and Warner Brothers, the companies behind the Batman franchise, feel the same way, so they have recruited Automobili Pininfarina to adapt the two models above into four bespoke EVs that they actually plan to sell to the public. Let’s start with the Battistas.
Automobili Pininfarina channels Batman with 4 new EVs
Automobili Pininfarina shared images and other details of the four Batman-inspired BEV models today, including two Battista hyper GT variants and two versions of the B95 Barchetta, aptly named “Dark Knight” and “Gotham.”
The collection was developed alongside Wayne Enterprises, a luxury brand managed by Warner Brothers that brings products inspired by Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne, to life and sells them to the public—well, the small portion of the public that lives like the fictional billionaire playboy, at least.
Pininfarina’s Chief Design Officer, Dave Amantea, spoke about the opportunity to collaborate with Wayne Enterprises, DC Comics, and Warner Brothers to bring some BEVs worthy of the fictional character’s checkbook to life:
Designing an all-electric hypercar inspired by Bruce Wayne is a dream assignment for our team, giving them creative freedom to place themselves into the imagination of someone as iconic as Bruce Wayne. These two exclusive specifications for our two hypercars represent the ultimate vehicles for the man behind the most famous mask in the world.
All four models feature the same powertrain, battery, and performance specs, including a 120kWh lithium-ion battery and four all-electric motors generating 1,900 horsepower. The result is a bespoke, Batman-inspired Pininfarina hypercar that can accelerate 0-100km/h (0-62mph) in well under two seconds. The automaker says it is faster than any current Formula 1 car.
While the specs closely resemble previous iterations of the Battista and Barchetta hypercars, Pininfarina points out several unique design elements that have been added to give these four models that special Batman treatment. Per the release:
Both Battista and B95 models receive all-new Wayne Enterprises-inspired HMI display enhancements, featuring an instruction voice inspired by Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler and assistant, Alfred Pennyworth. The Battista models also offer entirely new performance-enhancing specifications. These include tailgate shark fins and louver openings in the front and rear carbon fibre wings to improve overall aerodynamic efficiency towards the rear airbrake and vehicle side body. The exterior is completed with Wayne Enterprises logos on the side skirts and roof, and all models display a unique aluminium chassis and door plate, inspired by Bruce Wayne.
To further emphasise the ‘Dream Cars Made Real’ philosophy, the interiors of both the Battista Gotham and Dark Knight cars benefit from a completely new door and roof design where a large portion of the roof is curved glass, to lighten the interior ambience.
To honor the “Dark Knight” theme, Automobili Pininfarina has added dark elements to those two versions of the Battista and Barchetta, including black Alcantara and leather upholstery and a unique black and gold duo-tone contrast stitch detailing a “Wayne Enterprises” logo (seen above). The Dark Knight exteriors feature Nero Profondo gloss paint, a Nero Torino ‘Goccia’ roof, and Glorioso ceramic-polished rims.
Conversely, the “Gotham” versions of the Pininfarina hypercars were designed to reflect Bruce Wayne’s more gentle, domesticated side when he’s not crusading through the night as Batman. The Gotham exteriors feature Argento Vittorio gloss paint, a Nero Torino gloss paint Goccia roof, and a backlit version of the automaker’s “F” logo made of brushed and polished anodized aluminum.
The vehicles feature 20-inch alloy wheels up front and 21-inch wheels in the rear, all finished with a Prezioso Evoluzione gloss black face and a matte black channel rim. Inside the Gotham versions of the Battista and B95 Barchetta, you’ll find tan leather, bespoke quilting in the center panels, and tan stitching.
In true Automobili Pininfarina fashion, these four Batman-inspired hypercars will see a limited production run; we just don’t know how many will be built. The automaker told Electrek it will produce as many as are ordered, which truthfully shouldn’t be many.
As for pricing, here’s what the hypercar maker is charging per BruceWayneX.com:
Those are MSRPs only worthy of Bruce Wayne-like billionaires. You can take a closer look at the bespoke Batman hypercars in the video shared by Automobili Pininfarina below:
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China just connected its largest single-capacity solar farm built on a former coal mining area, which is in the Gobi Desert, to the grid.
The Mengxi Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station, located in Otog Front Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, came online on November 5. With a massive installed capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW) and over 5.9 million solar panels, the plant will generate around 5.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually – enough to power 2 million households.
This huge project will save about 1.71 million tons of standard coal each year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 4.7 million tons, which is equivalent to planting 62,700 hectares (around 155,000 acres) of trees.
Built on coal mining subsidence land, Mengxi Blue Ocean is part of China’s national West-East Electricity Transfer Project, which brings investment and development to western China west while supplying the growing need for electricity in the eastern provinces.
The solar farm includes the country’s first large-scale outdoor solar testing base in the Gobi Desert climate, demonstrating the potential for large solar installations in challenging environments.
The power station makes use of new rare earth alloy grounding materials, cutting costs by 40%. It also replaces traditional concrete foundations with steel to minimize impact on the local grassland ecosystem.
Chuang Xihong, deputy director of the Engineering Construction Department of Guodian Power Group, CHN Energy’s parent company, explained that Mengxi Blue Ocean is an agrivoltaic project as well [via PV Tech]:
Fine forage and sand-fixing plants are planted under the PV modules, providing grazing for Australian White Sheep and chickens. A composite ecological development model will be established where PV power generation and breeding will go hand in hand.
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Operations at Three Mile Island are poised to restart in four years, the latest sign that the nuclear power industry is undergoing a major turnaround after a wave of plant closures.
The Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island, which entered service in 1974, was permanently shut down in 2019 due to economic pressure as nuclear power struggled to compete against natural gas. But the tech sector’s growing power needs are breathing new life into the industry.
Constellation Energy plants to restart Unit 1 in 2028 through an agreement with Microsoft to help power the tech company’s data centers. The plant will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center — after Chris Crane, the late CEO of the plant’s former owner, Exelon — and its restart is subject to approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The Department of Energy said Unit 1 operated safely and efficiently before being shut down five years ago. However, it lies within walking distance of the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. The Unit 2 reactor suffered a partial meltdown in 1979 and has not operated since the accident. It is being decommissioned by its owner, Energy Solutions.
Constellation’s chief generation officer, Bryan Hanson said Unit 1 is in good condition and the restoration will mostly involve typical maintenance work.
Here is a look at the plant’s main control room, the turbine deck that houses the main power generator, and the facility’s iconic cooling towers. For more on the restart click here.
Main control room
The control panel in the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Constellation’s chief generation officer, Bryan Hanson, inside the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Telephones in the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Turbine deck
Part of the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Electrical panels on the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
A desk on the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Cooling towers
A detail of two cooling towers at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Power lines and a cooling tower at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Detail of a cooling tower at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Cooling towers at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
— CNBC’s Danielle DeVries contributed to this report.