If you’re into cars, especially the kind which deliver mind-blowing performance without an iota of tailpipe emissions, you must have heard about the Pininfarina Battista. It has been in the news for the better part of three years, and it has yet to enter production. That, however, will soon change as the brand wants to start customer deliveries in 2022.

Before that happens, though, the Italian firm wanted a certain someone to take the nearly-ready Battista out and get a good feel of it. Who? The Automobili Pininfarina Test and Development Driver Nick Heidfeld. If you don’t know what’s in his Curriculum Vitae, he’s an ex-Formula 1 and Formula E, driver. So, in a nutshell, he’s well qualified to understand and explain what the Battista feels like.

Here are some of the takeaways in Heidfeld’s own words:

· “This road car sprints faster than a Formula 1 car, and in Furiosa mode, I was left with a huge grin on my face every time.”

· “With Battista in Furiosa mode, the exterior sound is at its most audible setting, and it instantly made me smile on approach. You hear Battista before you see it – the car appears ‘alive’, and it helps develop an emotional connection that I honestly did not expect. The team had a tough target to hit here, and I believe this strategy is now proving a success.”

· “The handling on open roads – even on unpredictable surfaces – proved Battista to be beautifully balanced. Just how a hyper GT should feel.”

· “In this test, I was able to drive Battista with full power available. The effect under acceleration is completely mindbending – drivers will never bore of the experience, no matter how many times they feel it.”

· “The ride quality and damping both feel excellent, and the steering feels natural and the perfect fit for what we want to achieve in Battista. I am very sensitive to steering feel as a racing driver, and the sweet spot here is for it to feel light yet connected, and direct yet smooth.”

If you want to put some numbers in the mix to gain perspective, here’s what you need to know. The Battista has four electric motors, one for each wheel. The ones at the front produce 335bhp/280Nm each. As for the rear wheels, each one has 603bhp/950Nm available. In total, the car puts out approximately 1,877bhp and a colossal 2,460Nm of torque. As a result, the sprint from nothing to 100kmph takes less than two seconds, and the top speed is 350kmph.

There’s no word on when Automobili Pininfarina plans to start production of the Battista. But as mentioned above, that day isn’t far.