Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally Preview: A WRC-Inspired, Special Stage Steed

Visitors to England’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will get a front-row seat today for the debut of the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally, the newest variation of Ford’s electric horseman. A Mustang that will go where few previously have, the Rally is designed to be the first off-road themed Mach-E, and really the first factory-issue dirt-capable Mustang of any kind.

Crowds at the Chichester Hillclimb course should be in for a good show, too, as 2019 World Rally Champion Ott Tänak will pilot the all-electric SUV up the route as fast as possible. Tänak’s day job is blasting along forest trails in the team M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1, which competes at the very highest level of international rallying. He won the 2023 Swedish Rally in it back in February.

Since most Americans don’t follow the World Rally Championship (WRC) very closely, this theme might seem a little incongruous, but Ford is being very intentional here. Europeans love rallying and they also really like the Mach-E. 

More than 50,000 of the electric SUVs have been sold there since early 2021 and while Ford trimmed the Mach-E’s price at home to respond to market pressures earlier this year, it didn’t do the same in Europe. Ford even created a limited-run Shelby Mach-E package for Europe this spring with help from partner Shelby American. Why? “Because sales of EVs are growing much more rapidly there than in the USA,” said Aaron Shelby, grandson of Carroll and a board member at the company, in April.

In that context, blending in a little rally-themed magic for an off-road Mach-E makes plenty of sense. Just what the mechanical differences will be from the other Mach-Es, however, remains unclear. 

While the original Mustang competed in the pavement-and-dirt Monte Carlo rally back in the 1960s, the Mach-E Rally is a truly different beast. It’s also quite unlike either the production or racing versions of Tänak’s Ford Puma (a small crossover not sold in the U.S.). The Mach-E’s lengthy 117-inch wheelbase and 4,700-pound curb weight are great for on-road stability but would seem to discourage actual rallying, where small vehicles like the Puma are the norm. Their short wheelbases and light weight make it easier to slide them sideways along gravel or dirt.

However, the Mach-E Rally is aimed at adding dirt road performance to the SUV’s repertoire, not competition. “With Mustang Mach-E Rally, we’re providing our customers the freedom to venture off the asphalt and beyond the beaten path,” Darren Palmer, vice president of electric vehicle programs at the Blue Oval’s all-electric division, Ford Model e, said in a statement released Friday morning.

A little extra ground clearance and more off-road friendly wheels, both clearly in evidence on the Mach-E at Goodwood (which is running BF Goodrich all-terrain tires) are clearly planned, and the Rally will get a more aggressive front end too, complete with a tow hook and integrated off-road lights. Standard all-wheel drive (already included on the Route 1 and GT models) and additional suspension modifications wouldn’t be difficult to bake in.

It probably won’t be meant for hard-core rock crawling, that’s what the Bronco is for, but the Mach-E’s GE1 platform is also a distant cousin of the smaller Bronco Sport’s C2 architecture, so further modifications might be possible.

While the pricing and specs will be fully revealed later this year, we do know that Ford will sell the Rally on both sides of the Atlantic and that it’ll be available to order this fall.