Formula E: Mahindra Racing ties up with Pininfarina, Tech Mahindra

Pininfarina will also become a sponsor of the Mahindra Racing team, competing in the FIA Formula E championship.

Mahindra Racing today said it has entered into a strategic partnership with Pininfarina and Tech Mahindra under which it will get access to the Italian design firm’s expertise and Indian tech major’s digital technology.

Felix Rosenqvist (SWE) of Mahindra Racing in action during the Hong Kong ePrix, Round 2 of the 2017/18 FIA Formula E Championship at the Central Harbourfront Circuit on December 03, 2017. (FIA Formula E via Getty Images)

Besides, Pininfarina will also become a sponsor of the Mahindra Racing Formula E team, Mahindra Racing said in a statement.

Mahindra Racing is a part of the Mahindra group and it competes in the FIA Formula E Championship.

“This (partnership) enables the team to leverage Pininfarina’s legendary design and technology expertise to enhance the performance of its M5Electro race car, currently under development for Season 5 of the Formula E Championship which begins in December 2018,” it said.

Mahindra Group President (Group Communications & Ethics) & Chief Brand Officer Ruzbeh Irani said: “Combining their design, technology and digital skills will significantly augment Mahindra Racing’s existing capabilities and raise the bar as far as our performance is concerned.”

This strategic partnership is also “aligned to Mahindra’s vision of FUTURise, a creative expression of how we are driving growth through world class innovation in all our businesses”, he added.

The partnership will also focus on other areas of design and technology, including Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

It will also help Mahindra with its ‘Race to Road’ strategy that involves the application of learnings from the race track into the development of new electric road vehicles, in due course, the statement said.

Moreover, Mahindra Racing will also have access to Pininfarina’s testing facilities in Italy which will help the team enhance the aerodynamic efficiency of its race car, it said.

“This partnership enhances Pininfarina’s passion for racing and exceptional, environmentally responsible automotive performance,” Pininfarina CEO Silvio Pietro Angori said.

Tech Mahindra Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer Jagdish Mitra said that by combining Pininfarina’s design with Tech Mahindra’s digital expertise “we are demonstrating how the products of the future will need to be adapted for a convergent world”.

In 2015, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and group firm Tech Mahindra Ltd had acquired 76.06 per cent stake in Pininfarina.