Ford today unveiled the Mustang Mach-E 1400, a unique prototype that was developed in collaboration with RTR Vehicles. We published an article earlier today that includes all the technical information Ford released in the press release.
However, we were so excited about this Mach-E monster that we contacted Ford for more information, and were kind enough to provide us with individual time with Ford’s Global Director of Motorsports, Mark Rushbrook.
We asked Rushbrook why Ford believed it was important to build the Mustang Mach-E 1400, especially since they already manufactured the one-of-a-kind Mustang Cobra Jet 1400, another fully electric Mustang with the same 1,400 horsepower. He explained that these are two very different prototypes, designed with separate goals in mind. The Cobra Jet 1400 is made exclusively for the drag strip, while the Mach-E 1400 is a “versatile artist” who is ready for the track, the drag strip or a gymkhana course.
“When you take things to the extreme this way, you learn a lot and we can bring it back to our company and help make our road cars even better.” – Mark Rushbrook, Ford Global Director of Motorsports
Rushbrook further explained that there are a couple of reasons why Ford believes it is important to build vehicles like this, in addition to the fact that they are really cool. First off, the Machng E-1400 Mustang is here to show the world the capabilities of the Mach-E platform and what is possible with electric drive. Second, it is important for innovation and technology transfer. These kinds of extreme projects really guide future engineering, especially regarding high-performance models.
Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Motorsports
The Mach-E 1400 has seven engines; three driving the front axle and four driving the rear wheels. They are stacked on top of each other like pancakes, Ford explains. We asked Rushbrook how the team decided on seven engines. Why not six or eight? Why was seven the magic number? He said that in the early stages of development, the team set performance targets for the car and then experimented with different settings until they reached those targets. During that time they experimented with adding and subtracting motors, as well as battery cells, to achieve the desired performance, balance, and weight.
We can keep the car running all day with people who ride it by bicycle.
Rushbrook also explained that a lot of time was spent making sure the vehicle could run consistently without overheating issues. He told us that the vehicle can run on a track all day as long as it is recharged, which takes less than an hour to go from 0 to 80% of the load. Its cooling system uses a dielectric coolant and was designed to work as well while the car is charging. Airflow management was also a challenge because they had to factor in the cooling and aerodynamics, but also create the huge 2,300 lb downforce that the team wanted to achieve.
Rushbrook further explained that designing the cooling system for this extreme use case was a big part of the learning opportunity they had. The lessons learned with the battery management system on the Mach-E 1400 can be transferred to future Ford electric vehicles, which helps their ability to perform at high levels for longer periods of time and also to recharge faster.
We also learned quite a bit more than the press release offered on the battery used in the Mustang Mach-E 1400. Rushbrook first told us that the Mach-E 1400 uses different cells for the 56.8 kWh battery pack than bag cells. manufactured by LG Chem used in the production Mach-E. Rushbrook was not prepared to offer us the supplier’s name, but said they were nickel, manganese and cobalt (NMC) chemicals.
It also revealed that, like the Porsche Taycan, the Mustang Mach-E 1400 used an 800-volt battery system, which will offer more efficient power transfer to the electric motor and faster recharging. Ford needs to be able to recharge the vehicle quickly because Rushbrook told us the goal is to be able to run the vehicle all day at events, it only needs to stop once for every hour of heavy use to recharge. With the Mach-E 1400, it’s not about how many miles per kWh you can get, it’s about how many kWh you consume per mile.
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We know that Mustang Mach-E 1400 engineers weren’t shooting at long range like most production EVs do. Still, we threw that question at Rushbrook and got the answer we hoped for. It all depends on what type of racing the vehicle is doing. As mentioned, unlike the Cobra 1400 which is strictly designed for the drag strip, the Mach-E 1400 can participate in several different types of racing events, so the range will vary based on usage. However, the goal was to be able to power the vehicle for about an hour between recharges, and that’s what Rushbrook says they plan to do.
We cannot emphasize enough how pleased we are to see vehicles like Ford’s Cobra 1400 and Mach-E 1400. Merging the rich history of Ford racing with electric drive shows that the transition to electric vehicles doesn’t have to be boring. While many electric vehicle enthusiasts already know this, many more do not. There are many people who believe that electric vehicles are soulless toasters and simply are not fun to drive. The Machng E-1400 Mustang is one of the fastest Mustangs ever made, and if driving doesn’t seem like fun, then I’m afraid you just don’t know what fun is.
