Channeling 55 years of performance car heritage, Ford Motor Company has its first ever all electric design – and they’re calling it a Mustang.
Well actually it’s the Mustang Mach-E, and it’s not a fastback sports car, but rather an all new SUV design. But it’s the first reveal of a future where Ford sees electricity as the main form of propulsion for its vehicles going forward.
Ford Mustang Mach-E
Photo: Ford Motor Company
At an event in Los Angeles tonight, ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show which begins this week, Ford brought in Hollywood heavyweight Idris Elba – he himself a former Ford employee, having worked on the assembly line for 2 years back in England – to debut what Ford is banking heavily on as a launch vehicle into the future.
Developed in a century-old brick building a few blocks away from Henry Ford’s first factory in Detroit, Ford brought the Mustang Mach-E to life through a development process concentrated entirely on customer needs and desires. The end result is a design that has plenty of Mustang in its design, but at the same time, something that looks unlike anything Ford has put out before.
Mustang’s instantly recognizable sleek silhouette and muscular curves are visible in the Mach-E, but it’s also built with an upright stance that leaves no doubt about its new body style image.
Take a peek inside, and the Mach-E goes where no Ford has gone before. A streamlined, digitized, simplified, and some might say Tesla-fied interior that at first glance looks remarkably similar to that of the Tesla Model 3. But unlike the Model 3 there is also a digital readout in line with the steering wheel where the instrument cluster typically would be.
Ford Mustang Mach-E Interior.
Photo: Ford Motor Company
Making its debut in the Mach-E is the next-generation SYNC communications and entertainment system, a sleek and modern interface that uses machine learning to quickly learn drivers’ preferences, and gets even better over time thanks to advanced over-the-air updates. Next-generation SYNC’s 15.5-inch screen and simple interface ditches complicated menus, making it easier to access features with touch, swipe and pinch controls that every smartphone owner will be comfortable using.
When it arrives in late 2020, Mustang Mach-E will be available with standard and extended-range battery options with either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive powered by permanent magnet motors. Equipped with an extended-range battery and rear-wheel drive, Mach-E has a targeted EPA-estimated range of at least 480 kilometres or 300 miles. In extended-range all-wheel-drive configurations, Mach-E is targeting 332 horsepower and 417 lb.-ft. of torque – with the standard all-wheel-drive variation targeting quicker times to 60 mph than the base Porsche Macan series.
Ford also will offer two special performance versions. The GT is targeting 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds, making it faster off the line than a Porsche Macan Turbo. The GT Performance Edition, meanwhile, is targeting a comparable 0-60 mph in the mid-3-second range to a Porsche 911 GTS. Both GT configurations are targeting an estimated 342 kW (459 horsepower) and 830 Nm (612 lb.-ft.) of torque.
“The Mustang Mach-E wholeheartedly rejects the notion that electric vehicles are only good at reducing gas consumption,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product development and purchasing officer. “People want a car that’s thrilling to drive, that looks gorgeous and that can easily adapt to their lifestyle – and the Mustang Mach-E delivers all of this in unmatched style.”
Photo: Ford Motor Company
The SUV design of the Mustang Mach-E allowed designers to position the battery packs underneath the floor. This has allowed the design to accommodate seating for 5 along with sufficient cargo space in both the front and back.
Customers can now visit the Mustang Mach-E reservation site to make a $500 reservation deposit. A limited First Edition will be available in extended-range all-wheel drive, with red painted brake calipers, metallic pedal covers, contrasting seat stitching and a scuff plate marked First Edition. Those looking for the thrill of the Mach-E GT can make reservations now for deliveries starting in spring 2021.
Using an iconic nameplate for a whole new direction is risky. One suspects that Mustang purists will howl in protest, but a good guess is that Ford didn’t build this Mustang Mach-E for purists anyway. This is Ford’s attempt to showcase that all-electric driving can provide the same exhilarating experience that a traditional Mustang can, and their willing to put their legendary brand name on the product to prove it.
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