We dig the new 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, but there could be another Mustang on the horizon that is even more polarizing. According to AutoGuide, a new patent application was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office that could provide some insight into the new Ford Mustang Hybrid. The outlet says that the patent application, which was filed by Ford in July of 2017–but just published this week, is described as a “twin motor drive system for hybrid vehicle.”
This new drivetrain setup would comprise of a longitudinally mounted engine sending power to the rear wheels, with the addition of an electric motor mounted on each of the front wheels. Here is a summary of the patent:
“Methods and systems are provided for a hybrid electric vehicle including a front-wheel drive system and a rear-wheel drive system. In one example, the rear-wheel drive system includes an internal combustion engine configured to drive rear wheels of the vehicle, and the front wheel drive system includes a first electric motor and a second electric motor mounted directly to opposing sides of the engine. The first electric motor is coupled to a first reduction gearbox to drive a first front wheel of the vehicle, and the second electric motor is coupled to a second reduction gearbox to drive a second front wheel of the vehicle.”
The patent states that the internal combustion engine could be any sort of engine, so long as it is mounted longitudinally. The example drawings use a V8. This sounds very good to us. It is noteworthy to consider the idea of Ford producing a V8-powered Mustang Hybrid. ‘The Future is Built‘ advertisement that Ford released back in October with a futuristic-looking vehicle resembling a Mustang with a V8 engine under the hood is starting to make more and more sense. Ford North American production communications boss Mike Levine posted a tweet saying, “It’s a glimpse of the future. We are excited to show you more in the future. Stay tuned.”
When Ford first mentioned that a Mustang hybrid would “deliver V8 power and even more low-end torque,” we interpreted it as 400-ish horsepower and torque like we see in a Mustang GT. Now, with the release of the patent and that recent statement from Levine, Ford may be cutting right to the chase by saying that the Mustang Hybrid will indeed have a V8 under the hood.
What do you think? Would you like to see an electrified Mustang GT of sorts? Would you drive one? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to subscribe to Ford Authority for more news about the upcoming Mustang Hybrid.
Comments
I would drive an electric Mustang!
Me too!
I will if it has the rumble and growl of a Mustang!
A V8 and electric. Competition for the Tesla?
I’m all in.
I’d like that very much. Or—let’s just get Ford and Tesla in a room together and start one big happy family. Hmmm??
Ok so now i’m curious about this whole CD6 mustang that is coming our way when the Gen 7 mustang drops in 2021. The new Lincoln Aviator has a 3.0L Hybrid that makes 450hp and a mind boggling 600lb-ft of torque with the new 10-speed hybrid drive-line. We know that the Modular Hybrid drive-line has an electric motor sandwiched between the gasoline 3.0L twin turbo engine and the 10-speed automatic. So will the new Mustang use some of this tech as well but instead of being a plug in, will the front drive electric system charge and store energy for the hybrid system? Here is what I’m thinking the CD6 mustang will be like and of course i could be wrong but i’m watching Ford with certain thing and i’m putting together some bits and pieces for what’s coming with the new mustang and for a few other upcoming Ford vehicles.
I do believe the mustang is going to be all new and finally loose the full retro theme. As far as the 5.0L itself, I’m sensing that an upgraded Gen-4 Coyote engine is truly on the horizon, using the same block technology that powers the new GT500, I would have to say that top end from the GT350 will mostly be present, truly making the Gen-4 5.0L a 500hp car given that the Bullitt puts out 480hp with just the GT350 induction system, throttle body and intake manifold. But i don’t think it’s going to stop there. Ford is going to have a combined system with the modular electric motor sandwiched between the Gen-4 coyote V8 and the 10-speed automatic. now I don’t see the electric motor setup adding the same 50hp and 200lb-ft of torque but a 20hp bump and a 100lb-ft torque increase would see the car making roughly 520hp and 530lb ft of torque. Now here’s the thing, those numbers aren’t as astronomical or as far-fetched as they might initially sound. remember the BMW M850i X-Drive makes 523hp and 553Lb-ft of torque and it’s size specs aren’t much different than that of the current mustang. Now I’m not saying that Ford would be directly competing with BMW because pricing and everything else would put them in a completely different category, but an AWD coupe from ford like that with an optional Performance pack level-2 style magnetic ride suspension system, Brembo brakes with a regenerative braking system, heavy duty cooling, GT500 style exhaust manifolds, a reconfigured true dual high flow performance exhaust system with mid-mounted mufflers and rear resonators with quad tips and active exhaust valves, 20×9.5″ front/20×10″ rear wheels, an electronic differential, under body panels, a current GT500-style rear fascia, a sleek rear lip spoiler, a more modern taillight design that still keeps the three-section tail lamps but now completely LED (hopefully we will see a design that takes up the full trunk like the 67 GT500 but be black with red LED lighting for a more dynamic look but still have three sections on each side), a front end like the concept in the Ford Ad with the illuminated running pony, the grille will be more open to feed air into the radiator, added cooling for the electric systems, a revised hood design which in the picture reminds me of the SN95 style hood which i would have no qualms about Ford bringing back and having the two vents on the side of the cowl actually be functional this time (sorry, that was a moment of sentiment as I truly miss my 1994 Mustang) and updated headlamps which will hopefully not get the BMW double element treating and will do something to evolve the daytime running lamp design and hopefully tastefully evolve the glaring look the current mustang has. Inside, i have a feeling this car is going to be all new with a little more rear leg room and hopefully a sunroof. The Dash will keep the double bubble design but it will evolve a bit. the digital dash will be standard as will a 12″ infotainment screen, a new steering wheel design that will have a 4-spoke design instead of a 3-spoke design with an optional illuminated running pony in the middle and a flat bottom and will be heated and cooled. the mirrors will be heated and will have puddle lamps that will illuminated when the car is approached at night with the key fob activated. The car will have optional illuminated door sills and heated and cooled performance seats with alcantara centers and leather outer material. Also optional will be the heads up display with FLIR night vision detection, Blind spot monitoring, & B&O stereo system. Of course this would be an optioned out hybrid GT, the regular rear wheel drive 5.0L GT would slot under this, the 2.3L AWD hybrid and the 2.3L Ecoboost would fill in as usual below this trim package as well as a more track oriented GT350 and GT500, (although i’d personally prefer Mach-1 & SVT Cobra). the 2.3L Ecoboost should get a boost to 350hp and 350lb-ft of torque like in the Focus RS, with the hybrid model pushing out 390hp and 450lb-ft of torque. (that’s more torque than the 03-04 Cobra with the same amount of horsepower) let that sink in for a second.
I also don’t think Ford is going to fully kill the sedan market. What I do see is them offering (as rumored) a Mustang inspired Gran-Coupe like what BMW did with the M850i Gran-Coupe. Although this car will have it’s differences, it will be a CD6 platform 4-door vehicle that takes alot of styling cues from the Mustang as well as the drive trains, possibly including the GT350 and GT500 similar to what dodge has with the hellcat charger but this car would be way more efficient, lighter and better in every way.
There is also the rumor of an “electric” performance inspired by the mustang. While i do feel this vehicle will have an electric model, I also feel that this vehicle will have a V8 powertrain as well. Thinking back to the original “Mach-1” concept advertisements where the explorer and the mustang went into the warehouse together and out came the blinding light. Beyond a 5.0L Powered Explorer GT Hybrid model, This Mustang inspired crossover concept is supposed to be performance oriented. Now when I think of performance oriented crossovers (not SUVs) I think of the BMW X6M or the AMG GLE63 coupe. The X6M is a crossover that believes its a sports car and in all rights, it is. I don’t see this Mustang-inspired crossover being any different than that, and for Ford, that would include a GT Hybrid trim level with a hybrid 5.0L AWD system with looks and styling and performance “Inspired by the Mustang.” I believe that Ford’s next-gen performance lineup is going to look something like that. but i don’t believe that will be the whole lineup or even the full performance lineup.
The world seems to be leaning towards the whole SUV and truck market, even though the car market is still holding strong. I believe that the Expedition (seeing that it’s on the F150 platform still) will also receive a hybrid 5.0L powertrain and have a true V8 model to go up against the Tahoe RST but i believe Ford is going to do it better. Now i don’t think this is going to be a nurburgring attacking full size SUV, but a more confidence inspiring (and quicker) full size SUV will magnetic ride, lowered ride height, Brembo brakes, a 460hp variant of the 5.0L V8 Hybrid system making about 520lb-ft of torque (which would best the 3.5L ecoboost raptor) a true dual exhaust system, a sporty interior, 22×11″ sport wheels and wide tires, blacked out grille, blacked out LED lamps, etc and it would be called the black sport edition. There also needs to be a Harley Davidson Expedition and F150 and F-series super duty edition. The F150 and Explorer would get a high performance variant of the 5.0L Hybrid system but the super duty would get a new Power Stroke diesel pushing out 485hp and 1100lb-ft of torque through a new drivetrain. This package would come with specific wheels, suspensions, colors, graphics, emblems, stereo system, interiors, etc. It’s also beyond time that a 5.2L supercharged 600hp lighting V8 make its way back into the fold. The rumor that ford is bringing out an F250 High Boy to compete in the market with the Power Wagon is an excellent idea as well so Kudos to Ford on that.
Now obviously beyond the fun stuff, Ford still needs to appeal to the rest of the market and Ford has some fabulous ideas and other vehicles for the market and already available in other markets. I could see Ford killing of the Edge and the escape and bringing out the “baby bronco” to replace the Ford Escape and the Ford Everest to replace the Edge. Having both of those vehicles on rear wheel drive platforms allows Ford to get rid of front wheel drive platforms and front wheel drive power trains. havin the 350hp/350lb-ft torque 2.3L ecoboost as the base engine for these vehicles with an optional 3.0L Twin turbo V6 would be ideal as the hybrid variants of the 2.3L will push out nearly the numbers from the mustang hybrid ecoboost above and the 3.0L twin turbo hybrid should push 450hp but tuned down to only 500lb-ft of torque. The 3.0L Diesel should also be available for these two vehicles as well. The next generation Ranger and the upcoming Ford Bronco should have these powertrain with trim levels such as wild trak, Bronco, lariat, King ranch, and Limited with FX4 off road 4×4 packages on the Ranger, Bronco, Everest and Baby bronco models. The Bronco should be just as pure as it always was while other SUVs can either blend performance, luxury and comfort any way they seem fit. The Bronco should embody what the bronco is and always has been. an unbridled symbol of off road wilderness type free spirit.
Ford’s commercial line should go completely electric. The Transit and everything else ford is planning to bring forth should all be 100% electric, even police cars. This is where the bulk of pure electric vehicles should be focus. With Ford being so innovative into mobility. I would think Ford would do more to promote electric energy to several other things such as solar power for homes and businesses, Solar powered heated roadways with serviceable panels that you don’t need to tear up the whole entire street to service, maybe even a design for an automated brine solution sprayer that would coat the roadways so that at a certain temperature and barometric pressure the sprayers would automatically spray the road ways with a brine solution to keep the roads from icing and go hand in hand with the solar powered road heaters, or maybe Ford could get together with the different states and convince them to go back to concrete roads along with the heating panels, this way, the streets wouldn’t need to be torn up all the time. Ford could spinoff into a full on energy business, promoting solar energy to power businesses and homes which would save people money and cost them maybe a monthly membership fee of about $50.00 a home, which would be less than most people pay for their energy bill. Not only would this help Ford’s financial numbers by giving Ford the opportunity to counter their losses in china and hopefully eventually allow them to pull out of china for good, but it would also strengthen the American economy and make for a cleaner American environment. Running businesses and cities off of solar, water and wind power and help ford to really build the “cities of the future” that it wants to build. Ford would not only have an amazing car lineup but also a strong business model that would propel them for years to come. Just think, Ford could even partner with some of the American appliance companies and Ford would be complete household name. Cars, appliances, energy, mobility, etc. Ford is already into the electric bike and pedal bike market, what would stop them from getting into senior mobility such as scooters, shoppers, etc. Ford could turn the whole public transportation system upside down with electric buses, new electric trolley cars, electric vehicles for people who ride-share and all kinds of stuff. there is so much that Ford could do and they would have the greatest American legacy of all time!
actually, above where i stated that i wish the GT350 and GT500 be changed to Mach 1 and Cobra, I really should have said Boss and SVT Cobra. I believe the Mach 1 should be a package for both the Hyrbid Ecoboost and the Hyrbid GT (like the 1LE Camaro) The Mach 1 was a street car, the Boss and the GT350 were track cars and the GT500 was just the “biggest and baddest” Mustang although i feel a 428CJ Mach 1 could probably out run, out handle and all around out perform a GT500 but i could be wrong. Also the Mach 1 came out in 1969 while the GT500 of ’67-’68 had different missions. Even still I think a 428CJ Mach 1 would beat a GT500 in a race and there is no doubt in my mind that a 1970 Mach 1 351C would destroy a 1967 or 1968 Shelby GT350 seeing that a ’67 GT350 still had a 289ci V8 and the 68 Shelby GT350 had a 302ci V8 and as far as the track goes, I think a Boss 302 was a better track car than the GT350 and the Boss 429 mustang would DESTROY a GT500 forwards and backwards so yeah, the boss name should go on the CD6 track car. The Cobra should be a 4.6L Coyote style Ecoboost V8 with the hybrid drive line as well as a DCT drive line and should make equal to or more hp than the 2020 GT500 but with more torque and AWD and should out accelerated any performance car under $100,000.00 hands down. Actually, the CD6 should retire the Cobra badging and the new performance cars should be called Black Mambas as they are the fastest venomous snake on this planet! So yes these are my thoughts on the upcoming Ford lineup and Ford as a whole. Again these are just speculations, thoughts and ideas. if you like them great if not. oh well
Well first off, I’d like to thank you for your time and detailed reply.
I won’t reply to each individual topic that you covered—but, I will say, as a whole, I agree with you.
I’d love to see the Mustang mature into a hybrid/electric monster to fight some expensive competitors. As long as there is still a basic model for the purist. I need a manual and I need a V8. But as far as a Hybrid/Electric model is concerned, the sky is the limit.
Thanks again for the read, and the comment.
You’re welcome.
I love muscle cars. What sets them apart is the sound, rumble/vibration and speed! It breaks my heart knowing that a weak looking soccer mom frog mobile (Tesla)( not the model s I do like that one) is as fast or faster in a real world light to light race. I’m so excited to hear they are working on a v8 electric hybrid to take back the race and keep the sound, rumble, and soul of the car. This may be the best news I heard all year. Especially with all crap going on in the world today. Thank you for this article it brings me hope. I’m saving up for one now!