The Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400 pushes more than one ton (1,043 kg) at a speed of 257 km/h with 1400 horsepower, making it a terrifying performer.
Moreover, it is an electric car with seven motors.
Professional garage fans should be able to see that the Mustang Mach-E 1400 belongs to Ford’s “show muscle” category of cars.
It is said that the team spent ten thousand hours building this car.
As for the effect, let’s watch the video directly:
Produced by the Racing Team, Must Be a Fine Work
Unlike prototypes like the Volkswagen ID.R, the Mach-E 1400 is based on a modified Mach-E GT.
The Ford Performance division, which has rich experience on the racetrack, has gone all out in building this car.
Low Air Resistance? Downforce Is the Real Deal
The changes to the Mustang Mach-E 1400’s exterior are mainly focused on aerodynamics, especially in key areas such as the brake cooling ducts, front diffusers, front deflectors and rear wing.
Now let me shave a baldhead, put on a suit and leather shoes and tell you about it:
Many netizens wanted to see the Mach-E 1400, and two weeks ago, here it is!
This race car level modification brings downforce of up to 1,043 kg at a speed of 257 km/h. If it goes any faster, driving upside down on the ceiling should not be a problem.
Hybrid? I Have 7!
The Mach-E 1400 has 3 motors on the front axle and 4 coaxial motors arranged in parallel on the rear axle, all of which are connected to the differential between the left and right wheels.
As a result, the power of this vehicle is beyond imagination, with torque distribution between front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive, making it capable of high-speed cornering and drifting.
The total power of the Mustang Mach-E 1400 is as it name suggests: 1400 horsepower, rivaling the 16-cylinder 8.0 L quad-turbocharged engine in the Bugatti Chiron.
Suddenly, I seem to hear a voice from the “Ghost Animal Area” on Bilibili:
“7 motors, you may not know what it means. We usually use two words to describe this kind of car: electric monster!”
Former WRC driver, Gymkhana video (a series of videos where a modified car drifts madly around construction sites and cities), and the main character known as “Brick Uncle” Ken Block also experienced a “Brick” flying when he stepped on the gas pedal of this performance Godzilla.
An Ordinary-Looking Battery
The Mustang Mach-E 1400 uses a nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary battery with a capacity of 56.8 kWh.
This capacity doesn’t seem impressive? But let’s look at it this way:
This car has 1400 horsepower, which converts to 1029 kW. Dividing by the battery capacity of 56.8 kWh, we get a charge/discharge rate of 18.12 C.
This data seems as exaggerated as “7 motors.”
But another problem arises: how to handle the heat dissipation with such high power?
Ford engineers have a solution: a custom battery cooling system.
By using insulating cooling liquid, the battery can be quickly cooled while the vehicle is being regeneratively charged, shortening the time it takes to return to the track.
A Kaleidoscope on the Racetrack
The configuration, such as braking, weight reduction, ECU, and so on, can be too much to discuss, but in short, it is very hard-core, very “racy.”Do you remember the scene in the promotional video where Mustang Mach-E 1400 interacted with the “seniors” of Ford’s high-performance department?
Did you notice that Mach-E 1400, which is electrically driven, is a versatile racetrack performer?
With exaggerated power, torque, and aerodynamics, Mach-E 1400 is capable of anything. It can run on the track, go NASCAR, and play Gymkhana.
And guess what else I found?
It’s actually a four-seater car!
Compared with many prototype cars that have sealed rear doors and removed front passenger seats, I was surprised and impressed by the “practicability” of the Mustang Mach-E 1400, which shows the confidence of the engineers.
Having exceeded the standard of lightweight design, shall we add two more seats?
Impression?
“It’s really amazing!”
It’s cool, what next?
Mustang Mach-E 1400 exudes the hormone of its own performance monster everywhere, and the scenes where it proudly flexes its muscles in the short film are very impressive.
At the same time, in the promotion of Mach-E 1400, electrification is repeatedly mentioned, and it is evident that Ford is really paying attention to it.
If we combine Ford’s recent moves and news, we will find that Ford is planning far beyond electrification, or more strictly speaking, electrification.
Electric pickup trucks, don’t just look at Tesla
On the day when Cybertruck made a splash, I believe Ford was also paying close attention besides the media.
Looking at various enthusiastic expressions at Ma Yilong’s press conference and cheers and excitement from the fans, as well as the skyrocketing online orders for Cybertruck, I think everyone knows how Ford feels.
As Tesla released the video of Cybertruck winning in the tug-of-war with Ford’s flagship pickup truck F-150 online, the elder of the pickup truck world felt a bit challenged.
When Ford followed up on Twitter, I seemed to hear a voice from a certain movie:
“The local gang is just too rude!”
Decades ago, Ferrari challenged us in the Le Mans race. We answered with a championship. Now, the newcomer Tesla is messing with our pickup trucks. Can we tolerate that?
Talk is cheap. A few days ago, in the release of the new generation of F-150, Ford clearly announced that the next generation of F-150 will have a pure electric version, which will be available in 2022.Different from Tesla, which can easily compare with an F-150, the Cybertruck has not yet been mass-produced, making it unrealistic for Ford to compete with a pure electric F-150.
So how about showing off muscles again?
This can be seen from last year’s performance: the pure electric F-150 prototype effortlessly pulled a 10-carriage double-decker trailer with a total weight of over 450 tons.
But Ford felt it was not enough, and in the second round of challenges, the difficulty was increased again. All 42 F-150s on sale were loaded into the trailer, with a total weight of more than 520 tons. The pure electric F-150 prototype still completed the challenge smoothly.
Facing the criticism of being old-fashioned but still capable, Ford performed a “big eater” show and even wanted to ask back: hey little brother, electrification is cool, wanna take a bite?
Ford: Let’s get down to business
The electrification of the automotive industry has already begun. Tesla, which is at the forefront, has already been defined as a technology company, and its stock price has left behind major traditional car manufacturers. The importance of this matter, I think, does not need to be talked about much.
Traditional car manufacturers have started to develop electric vehicle models in response to this situation.
Before talking about Ford, let’s take a look at what other top players in the industry are doing.
Volkswagen has developed a new car series ID, and Mercedes EQ series and BMW i series are similar.
Volvo has created a new electrification brand Polestar.
The benefits of these practices are also obvious. Even if these attempts are not very successful, the impact on the parent brand is limited.
However, Ford is different. Stepping onto the stage of electrification, it does not want to half-show its hand.
If you take a look at the models that Ford first started electrifying, you may be surprised: F-150, Mustang, Transit.
These are all Ford’s flagship models, and these longstanding and well-reputed models can be said to be Ford’s most valuable brand assets.
Instead of starting with compact family cars like the Focus, it chose these star models as the beginning of its electrification road. In my opinion, Ford’s move is full of risks and challenges.
But this kind of courage also demonstrates Ford’s sincerity and determination to deepen its electrification in the market.
There can be no courage without strategy
As the saying goes, taking big steps can easily lead to mistakes. Ford, a company of its size, “opens the game by playing the trump card” in the electrification of vehicle models, which may seem reckless but actually has meticulous attention to detail.
Unavoidable problems
Developing electrified vehicles requires huge amounts of capital investment, even for established traditional manufacturers.
Money is a necessary condition for getting involved.Ford plans to invest $11.5 billion in the development of new energy vehicles from 2017 to 2022, with an average annual R&D cost of 17.5 billion RMB, almost $500 million per day.
Under such a huge R&D investment, newly produced cars are naturally required to have sufficient sales volume to accelerate the capital pullback.
Tesla is the best example. The hot sale of Model 3 has played a decisive role in reversing Tesla’s profits. In Q2 of this year, while Model Y production capacity was climbing, Model 3/Y models accounted for 88.3% of Tesla’s overall sales.
Sales volumes are too important.
By cutting models such as the F-150, Ford is naturally targeting its “carrier” attributes as the top-selling model in the United States.
Although not as high as the F-150, the sales strength of the Mustang and Transit in the segmented market is also unquestionable.
By leading with best-selling models, the approach is broader and more direct, and Ford also hopes that this approach will be more efficient. The pressure on money will also be relatively reduced.
From 0 to E, in the name of Mustang
I mentioned earlier that the performance monster Mustang Mach-E 1400 was based on the Mach-E GT transformation, where the latter is the first mass-produced model in Ford’s electrification strategy.
The selection of such a mid-size SUV as the first mass-produced pure electric vehicle model also once again illustrates that Ford has considered sales volumes.
Although it is an SUV, I am still looking forward to the Mach-E.
To promote the process of electrification and intelligence, Ford established a dedicated “Edison team” internally a few years ago.
This team, which has developed to two to three hundred people, serves as Ford’s sharp-edged force in the field of electrification and intelligence, playing an important role in the development of Mach-E.
In terms of results, although there is not much information available at present, according to previous news about Ford, Mach-E will soon be equipped with Ford’s first “hands-free” assisted driving function.
And I feel that the Mach-E is probably not a boring electric car.
Because the galloping-horse logo on it tells the world that this is a Mustang.
For Ford, even for the US auto industry, the history-laden Mustang label and the countless humanities-laden stories behind it are already well-known and need no further introduction.
This totem has influenced countless people over several decades, and has now evolved into a symbol of personality, freedom and avant-garde.
On the outside, the Mach-E stands out with its striking sloping design, iconic three-bar taillights, and bold front grille paying tribute to its predecessors.
Not only that, engineers from the legendary performance car Mustang GT 500 series also participated in the development of the Mach-E.
Recalling the performance display of the Mustang Mach-E 1400, I believe that the Mach-E will not disappoint the name of Mustang in terms of sportiness and driving pleasure.
Moving forward, with allies and fun
In June, Ford and Volkswagen signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The agreement emphasizes that Ford will develop new models for Europe on Volkswagen’s MEB platform and the two will work together on autonomous driving to develop new technologies on a large scale.
These two companies that are brave enough to change have shown their importance to electrification. This collaboration makes them a strong alliance, reducing the development cost of models, and the technical investment of both parties also ensures better research and development.
Facing electrification, the century-old Ford’s choice is to lead the way, and its strategy is well-planned.
Slightly different from Volkswagen, Ford has a more “American” perspective on electrification and hopes that this process will be more interesting.
V8 is precious, but electric drive is also attractive. In the United States, where displacement is believed to be righteous, Ford needs to challenge many conventional beliefs.
Through the 10 railway carriages pulled by the F-150, Ford hopes people will recognize the “power” of electric drive.
But that’s not enough.
As Ford’s key exploration in the field of pure electric, Mustang Mach-E has taken up the banner.
The Mustang without a large-displacement engine has opened a new chapter, and the bravery and breakthrough spirit of not standing still and moving forward can be said to be the inheritance of Mustang’s core by the Mach-E.
And the exciting Mustang Mach-E 1400.
The process of creating the prototype car for ten thousand hours is Ford’s obsession with performance.
Its debut brings together representatives of many Ford performance cars and works with many honorary racers to enjoy and perform on the track.
Ford is also using this way to tell people in an exciting and more charming way:
Not only V8, electric drive can also be very cool. The original capabilities of the vehicle can also be achieved after electrification, even more exaggerated and easier.
Electrification can also be very fun.
This is what Ford says internally:
Ford is an absolutely amazing company that has always been at the forefront of innovation. Everyone is talking about Henry Ford’s innovations, but in fact, we are still constantly innovating- Dave Pericak, Director of Ford’s Global Iconic Vehicles.
Although similar words have been heard in other companies, the tone of Ford’s people is rare calm.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.