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Revealed at this year’s slightly damp Goodwood Festival of Speed, a new rally-inspired version of Ford’s Mustang Mach-E hints at a mud-spattered future for performance EVs. While initial details are thin, Ford did confirm the Mach-E Rally was a production model, and is bound for dealerships, with the order books opening this fall.
Ford’s press release included much ballyhoo about Ford taking the Mustang “where it has never been before.” Nonsense. The original Mustang – the kind with a V8 instead of batteries – has a long history of racing in rallies, both on tarmac and gravel. In 1969 and 1970, the then-new Ford Mustang Mach 1 was the SCCA’s Road Rally champion. These were mostly on-road time-speed-distance events, but Mustangs did get dirty in rallies from the Midwest to Mexico.
This version of the Mach-E isn’t really inspired by those, but rather by Ford’s European rallying efforts with the Puma small crossover. And, if you squint a bit, there’s possibly a bit of Focus RS DNA in that great big rear spoiler.
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On paper, a battery-powered rally car could be very successful — depending on the length of the stages. At the recently-held Pikes Peak hillclimb, EVs have long been king of the hill, able to shrug off altitude in a way the combustion-engine cars can’t. However, Pikes is more a sprint than the long-distance cross-country runs that make up a proper rally.
With off-road-y tires, fog lights, and white rally-style wheels, the Mach-E Rally could be more appearance package than actual dirt machine. Still, even if the ground clearance isn’t hugely improved versus the standard car (again, no figures have yet been released) it does look like a lot of fun.
Check out details on the latest Ford Mustang Mach-E via our online shopping tool.
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