The final goal was to power them with single-phase alternating current, constituting the first case of a European locomotive of this type designed according to modern criteria.

Designed by the famous engineer Kálmán Kandó and built in the plant of Construzioni Elettro Meccaniche di Saronno (CEMSA), it was aimed at the future development of three-phase traction.

According to some oral testimonies, after management changes at the Material and Traction Service of FS due to the advent of Fascism in Italy, the project was judged "an error of the engineer Donati" and the test results were held to be unsatisfactory.

On the other hand, Mascherpa provided an impressive documentation from which it seems that, at the end of the test runs, a tractive effort corresponding to that envisaged was achieved.

The success of direct current experiments, favoured by the new railway management, meant that the E.471 remained at the prototype stage and never entered regular service.