Meant to reduce or completely eliminate direct carbon emissions, most electric cars are efficient city runabouts intended to be practical and not implied for hooning about. But there are times where efficiency and practicality take a back seat, and the true potential of electric power can be unleashed.
The sacrilegious Mustang Mach-E debuted last year much to the dismay of Mustang fanboys all over the world. However, Ford’s in house performance division has teamed up with RTR Vehicles to show what electric power can really do.
The Mach E 1400 Prototype is a bloated derivative of the sleek, all-electric Mustang Cobra Jet 1400, utilising the same insane 1,400 hp powertrain, but dressed-up in a very aero-focused body. Developed in collaboration with RTR Vehicles, Ford Performance created the Mach-E 1400 as a showcase of just how much performance electric powertrains can put out.
Built off a Mustang Mach-E GT body-in-white, the chassis and powertrain work together for a multitude of setups offering capability, unlike any other vehicle. With seven electric and an extreme high downforce bodykit, the Mach-E 1400 is ready for the track, drag strip, and even the gymkhana course. The king of Hoonigans Ken Block can be seen here putting the Mach-E 1400 through its paces, showing just how capable electric power really is.
The Mustang Mach-E 1400 features cutting edge electric powertrain technology, delivering extreme performance from its seven electric motors. With three motors attached to the front differential, four on the rear and linked together with a single driveshaft, the Mach-E 1400 allows the development team to experiment with various layouts and configurations. Available as either front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, Power delivery can be split evenly between front and rear, or entirely to one or the other.
The key to this considerable versatility and tremendous power comes in the form of the 56.8kWh battery. Unlike the more common lithium-ion, this battery is filled with nickel manganese cobalt power cells. The high-performance battery pack is designed for a high discharge rate. It uses a dielectric coolant to cool the batteries during charging. This allows for a shorter charge time between runs, giving users more opportunities to exploit 1,400hp.
The Mach-E 1400 offers a massive range of adjustability and setups for all applications, from high-speed track work to pulling-off tyre-smoking drifts. The prototype’s designers binned the rule book. They focused more on aerodynamic efficiency and downforce with numerous cooling ducts, front splitter, dive planes and a massive rear wing. The development team claims that the Mach-E 1400 produces over 1,000kg of downforce at 160mph (257kph).
Like the Mustang GT4 race car, the Mach-E 1400 uses Brembo brakes, an integrated electronic brake booster with regenerative braking, as well as ABS and stability control to optimise braking performance. Oddly enough, the Mach-E also comes integrated with a hydraulic handbrake that is designed in such a way that it completely shuts off power to the rear motors. Pretty sure Gitten Jr. had something to do with that.
The Mustang Mach-E 1400 is the result of 10,000 hours of collaboration by Ford Performance and RTR to show what an electric vehicle can do.
Set to debut at a NASCAR event in the near future, the Mach-E 1400 will continue to serve as Ford’s testbed for newer electric technology and next-generation composite materials for building vehicles. If the Mustang Mach-E 1400 prototype is an indication of things to come from electric cars, the future of motorsports looks very exciting indeed.
