Ford has today unveiled the Mustang Mach-E 1400, a one-off 1,400-horsepower (1,419 PS) all-electric car that features seven electric motors. The car was designed to show how much performance can be harnessed without using a drop of fuel.
Developed in collaboration with RTR and built off a Mustang Mach-E GT, the prototype is the result of 10,000 hours of collaboration between the two companies.
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“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.”
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Here, the Ford design team and RTR used many of the same tools Ford uses for its race cars and production programmes. Aerodynamics are optimised for shape and location, with a focus on cooling ducts, front splitter, dive planes and rear wing.
The chassis and powertrain are set up to allow the team to investigate different layouts and their effects on energy consumption and performance, including rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive and front-wheel drive. 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. Downforce is targeted at more than 1,000 kg at 257 km/h (160 mph).
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What makes the Mustang Mach-E 1400 even more special is its use of seven motors, that’s five more than the already-blistering Mustang Mach-E GT. Ford has attached three motors to the front differential, and put the rest by the rear in a pancake style; a single driveshaft connects the motors to the differentials, which means the car has a range of adjustability to set it up for everything from drifting to high-speed track racing.
“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.”
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“The challenge was controlling the extreme levels of power provided by the seven motors,” said Mark Rushbrook, motorsports director, Ford Performance. “Mustang Mach-E 1400 is a showcase of the art of the possible with an electric vehicle.”
The 56.8kWh battery is made up of nickel manganese cobalt pouch cells for ultra-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 each run.
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To recoup energy back into the battery pack, an e-brake booster is integrated within the vehicle’s braking system – this gives the car ABS and stability control. Mustang Mach-E 1400 features Brembo brakes, like the Mustang GT4 race car, and a hydraulic handbrake system designed for drifting that integrates with the powertrain controls to enable the ability to shut off power to the rear motors.
Mustang Mach-E 1400, which is set to debut at a Nascar race soon, serves as a testbed for new materials. The hood is made of organic composite fibres, a lightweight alternative to the carbon fibre that comprises the rest of the vehicle.
Ford is investing more than $11.5 billion in electric vehicles worldwide, with the first global vehicle, Mustang Mach-E, available to order now from the manufacturer’s website. The first Mustang Mach-E models for customers in Europe will arrive in early 2021.
