Ford reveals Mustang Mach-E race car with 1,400 horsepower

Ford has revealed a high-performance racing version of its all-electric Mustang Mach-E 1400. A prototype developed in collaboration with RTR Vehicles, it’s aimed at demonstrating the performance possibilities of electric propulsion.

The Mustang Mach-E 1400 claims an output of 1,400 peak horsepower and more than 1,000 kg of downforce at 257kph from its seven motors and high-performance battery.

“Now is the perfect time to leverage electric technology, learn from it, and apply it to our portfolio,” said Ron Heiser, chief programme engineer, Mustang Mach-E. “Mustang Mach-E is going to be fun to drive, just like every other Mustang before it, but Mustang Mach-E 1400 is completely insane, thanks to the efforts of Ford Performance and RTR.”

Ford says its design team and the RTR team used many of the same tools Ford uses for its race cars and production programmes. Aerodynamics of the prototype are optimised with focus on cooling ducts, front splitter, dive planes and rear wing.

“Getting behind the wheel of this car has completely changed my perspective on what power and torque can be,” said Vaughn Gittin Jr., RTR Vehicles founder, motorsports champion and professional fun-haver. “This experience is like nothing you’ve ever imagined, except for maybe a magnetic roller coaster.”

The racer’s 56.8-kilowatt-hour battery is made up of nickel manganese cobalt pouch cells for high performance and high discharge rate. The battery system is designed to be cooled during charging using a di-electric coolant, decreasing the time needed between runs.

The Mustang Mach-E 1400 has seven motors – five more than Mach-E GT. Three of these are attached to the front differential and four are attached to the rear, with a single driveshaft connecting them to the differentials.

The chassis and powertrain of the prototype are set up in a way that allows the team to explore different layouts and their effects on energy consumption and performance. Drift and track setups have completely different front end configurations like control arms and steering changes to allow for extreme steering angles in drifting. Power delivery can be split evenly between front and rear, or completely to one or the other.

Making its first appearance at a NASCAR race soon, Mustang Mach-E 1400 serves as a test bed for new materials like organic composite fibres, a lightweight alternative to the carbon fibre that comprises the rest of the vehicle.