Ready to get out on the track - notice non-running Mach 5 replica on the left. (Petrobras photo) » More Photos

Couple that with fancy-looking 20-inch wheels on the back – the original chassis had 13s – and the result is so little torque to overcome the massive inertia that that the clutch slips madly when you first try to floor the gas, engine barking comically as the wall of noise coming from your back bears little relation to the amount of forward progress.

Then there are the gigantic front fenders sprouting from the side radiators, which completely block sightlines and force apex-searching into an exercise in approximation. Sure, its virtual counterpart looks thrilling in action at your local multiplex, but here in the real world, a thrill to drive fast this thing is not.

After a handful of laps, I’m able to find the throttle’s sweet spot – the one where it’s actually able to work the clutch properly – and fun, read proper speeds, can be extracted from the Green Energy. Of course, with the added weight and the damp track, it understeers resolutely when pushed a little quicker, but the fantasy of becoming Mariana Sanja – that’s the driver’s name in the movie – can come to life, ever-so-briefly.

And a very virtual fantasy it is, as the Green Energy’s role in Speed Racer is not major enough to grant Ms. Sanja a physical appearance outside the cockpit – that will happen when the video game based on the film comes out. Then, this Brazilian-Danica-Patrick-of-the-future will have an actual, albeit digital, face. For now, yours truly’s will have to do…