There’s quick, and then there’s launching a car with such brutality that you can legitimately feel your cheeks pulling away from your face. It takes the Automobili Pininfarina Battista just 1.8 seconds to accelerate to 60 miles per hour. Yet somehow, that isn’t the most eye-popping detail about this hand-built Italian hypercar. Ditto its $2.5 million asking price. //

Those EV guts consist of a T-shaped 120 kWh battery pack and four electric motors, one at each wheel. Max output is a yes-you-read-that-correctly 1,877 hp (1,400 kW) and 1,726 lb-ft (2,340 Nm) of torque, and while the aforementioned 1.8-second 0-to-60-mph sprint is ludicrous in its own right, even more impressive is that the Battista never lets up. It takes less than five seconds to hit 124 mph (200 km/h), and you’ll see 186 mph in just over 10 seconds. The Battista’s top speed? 217 mph (350 km/h). You’ll be there in no time.

To avoid inadvertently launching the Battista out of your driveway, output is restricted to just—just!—670 hp (500 kW) and 863 lb-ft (1,133 NM) of torque in the default Calma drive mode. The Battista uses only its two front motors in this setting, and by the way, how hilarious is the thought of a 670-hp front-wheel-drive car? Exercise some restraint with your right foot and Pininfarina says you can actually see a driving range of 300 miles (482 KM) in Calma mode. But man, good luck not flooring this thing on every stretch of open road. //

Everything the Battista does is immediate. The power delivery, the brake force, the steering response—there’s no delay to any of this hypercar’s actions. Credit goes to the absolutely phenomenal chassis, which allows you to carry absurd speeds through turns with perfect balance and composure. Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires are a boon for traction, but there’s still so much sheer force being sent through the Battista’s quad motors that the car occasionally skips a beat if you floor it while exiting a corner. Everything is controllable, and that playful skittishness is always on the driver’s terms.

The power, the punch—it’s an absolute thrill. The Battista is like nothing I’ve ever driven. And that includes a Bugatti Chiron. //

Did I mention this thing is definitely a cop magnet?

There’s a fully built-out infotainment system to the right of the steering wheel, which I admittedly did not use much because I was too busy melting my face off. //

Also, it’s worth noting that, despite this test car being an early prototype that’s been through a lot of customer and media test drives, the whole thing is holding up shockingly well for a hand-built Italian car. (Not something I can say about most Lamborghinis, honestly.) During my drive around Malibu, California, not a single squeak or rattle was present.