On a mission to obliterate preconceptions of what electric vehicles are and what they can do, Ford has added the Mustang Mach-E 1400 to its growing garage of insanely powered experimental electrics, a place it also stashes the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 drag car and Mustang Lithium show car. With seven motors around its axles and 1,400 horses pulsing through its veins, the Mach-E 1400 reinforces that Ford will not merely settle for pushing out ho-hum electric commuters. Instead, it puts stomach-dropping, face-contorting performance at the center of its electrification efforts.
Ford Performance has developed the one-of-a-kind Mustang Mach-E 1400 prototype as a technology demonstrator in collaboration with RTR Vehicles. The racer is built from the ground up to show the pure fury and performance potential that electric powertrains hold while also experimenting with different electric ride mappings.
The two outfits started off with a Mustang Mach-E body in white, putting in 10,000 hours of work to transform it into the unabashedly bonkers racer pictured in front of you. Their work was helped along by the fact they weren't working within the constraints of race series regulations, allowing pure, unfiltered performance to guide the design with a deft hand.
The heart of the 1400 is not the one, two, three or four electric motors you usually see in electric cars, but an astonishing seven, wired up to the 56.8-kWh battery. Three of the motors are attached to the front differential, with four installed "pancake style" at the rear. A single driveshaft and rear differential complete the setup, which has been configured to allow for a full slate of drive modes fine-tuned for everything from loose drifting, to torque-spewing drag strip sprints, to taut, track-mastering agility runs.
The 1400 can split its torque evenly between the two axles or direct 100 percent to the front or rear. Steering and suspension tune adjustments align with specific modes and operations to deliver performance optimized for driving styles and conditions. The extreme aerodynamics kit with towering rear wing, jutting front splitter and slashing dive planes can deliver an estimated 2,300 lb (1,043 kg) of downforce at 160 mph (258 km/h).
"Getting behind the wheel of this car has completely changed my perspective on what power and torque can be,” says Vaughn Gittin Jr, RTR Vehicles founder, pro drifter and someone who generally has a pretty good idea of what power and torque can be. "This experience is like nothing you’ve ever imagined, except for maybe a magnetic roller coaster."
Besides serving up the type of unbridled thrills that usually exist only in childhood dreams, the greater mission behind the Mustang Mach-E 1400 is to investigate the effects of different powertrain and chassis tunes on EV energy consumption and performance. Ford and RTR also use the racing test bed to explore new materials, complementing the heavily carbon-fiber build with a lightweight organic-composite hood.
The Mustang Mach-E 1400 battery pack is designed for the high discharge rates demanded by a high-performance e-racer. A di-electric coolant helps it remain cooler during charging so the car can roll right back out and attack the next lap. Regenerative braking comes from an electronic brake booster that also works with the Brembo braking system to provide anti-lock braking and stability control.
That's about all Ford has to say about the Mustang Mach-E 1400 for now, but it plans to run the experimental prototype at a NASCAR event in the near future. If you'd rather not wait that long, the four minutes of video down below do a good job of showing what the Mach-E 1400 can do.
Source: Ford
