Recently, Ford CEO Jim Farley stated that the automaker is not interested in producing niche, expensive EVs with price tags over $100k, and instead plans to focus on building more affordable and accessible electric vehicles. Now, however, we’ve spied a Porsche Taycan Turbo S driving around Ford’s vehicle development center in Dearborn, Michigan, before going into it.
One might think that perhaps this Porsche Taycan simply belongs to a Ford employee, but we can tell from these photos that it is actually a vehicle being benchmarked by The Blue Oval. For starters, the car is wearing a manufacturer’s plate, and it has the tell-tale yellow sticker at the top of the windshield, which has a Ford development vehicle inventory bar code printed on it. Additionally, we followed the car to Ford’s facilities, after which it headed to the test track.
The Porsche Taycan is a very high-end EV product, one that carries a base price of $79,990 for the brand new bare-bones model, but that climbs to an astounding $185,000 for the Turbo S. However, the performance of the Turbo S is equally breath-taking, as the car will go from 0-60 miles-per-hour in just 2.6 seconds, thanks to its 750 horsepower peak output.
Currently, the only all-electric product in FoMoCo’s portfolio is the Ford Mustang Mach-E, though it will soon be joined by the Ford F-150 electric, Ford E-Transit, a future model built on Volkswagen’s MEB platform (for Europe only), and five new EVs that will be produced at the Ford Oakville Assembly Plant.
Ford is obviously working on a major BEV offensive, but could/should that also include a high-performance luxury sedan like the Porsche Taycan, perhaps even one bearing the Lincoln name? Let us know in the poll below!
Comments
Let’s look at everything we have here. Ford has been talking of bringing out a 4-door variant of the Mustang for the next generation, Ford partners with VW (which i believe is still involved with Porsche), Ford talks about using parts off the CD6 platform for the next mustang, Ford talks about the next mustang being all electric, Ford Taycan shows up at Ford plant. Is it not obvious that Ford is planning an electric 4-door mustang to rival the Taycan the same way it’s done alot of other things in the past?? While the Taycan is far from perfect, it is a very decent electric vehicle. Ford has already shown with the help of RTR that they can make a wild performance electric Mach E along with the Cobra jet 1400E a high performance Mustang car would be exactly what Ford needs to really get into the electric car market.
I hope that the connection hopefully it will be capable to received a 350kw/h
so we will be able to charge faster
thank you
Shut up I hate people like you..”I hope they have 350..”shut the hell up..if you was smart you would of went a lot further in life dummy
“””””If you was smart you went a lot further in life dummy””””” What the hell is this? This is the ramblings of an uneducated drunk, or maybe crack pipe smoker (could be both). Suggestion: If you are going to comment on a person’s intelligence, at least do so with a basic understanding of English-or get help from a 10 year old.
Mustanggod is sad, pathetic & angry… Article was a bit light on specifics and too much speculation.
Are you interested in hiring someone who can actually construct a sentence in English? Or perhaps hire a proof reader? Start with Brett’s first sentence. I work cheap!
Oh wow, one misspelled word. Congrats on finding it and pointing it out in a condescending manner.
Wow. A condescending loser on the internet with nothing else to do with their life than point out accidental spelling and grammar issues. Never seen that before.
All car manufacturers buy competition models for testing and engineering evaluation. Some even tear them apart for reverse engineering. GM Authority had an article about this.
Doesn’t really matter to me what Ford goes until they again offer ICE powered sedans. EV’s, pickup trucks and SUV’s are not in my future.
Well, keep your ICEVS running until you are gone. Your last ride will be in an EV hearst!
I doubt it, not unless they build a lot more electric power plants
A hearse would be a good application for EV technology. They rarely go more than one or two short trips per day, their trips are slow processions and they’re kept in heated garages at night where they can be recharged and pampered. ICE’s operate in the real world.
Probably benchmarking another bastardized Mustang.
Its well known that Ford used the Taycan as a benchmark when developing the Mach E. So this is not new nor does it necessarily mean they are working on a more direct competitor. I would think after the Mach E and Electric F150 are launched they will be looking at a small electric SUV. Something to replace the Escape eventually. If they can get the price under $30k that is going to be the volume market.
Power utilities has plenty of excess capacity at night which is when most EVS are charging. Some will give you a lower rate if you do that. Just ask and see for yourself that no new plants are needed.
I wonder, if Ford builds an “electric mustang/porche ripoff” will it be built in Mexico as their emustang and bronco sport (et al) are built??? I believe I know the answer, but, if ford and others really wanted to take care of both energy supply and emissions, the Natural Gas fueled vehicles would be plentiful. We (USA) have Proven reserves, at todays rate of consumption, of over 98 years. We have so much in fact, there is little to no new exploration, it is reasonable to assume we have much more than the 98 years worth. NG runs Clean and Strong. Maybe ford could offer so real V8s once again!!
Facts: 19% of all electric in the US is generated from burning Coal
Fact: 19.7% of all electric in the US is generated by Nuclear
Fact 41% of all electric in the US is generated by burning NATURAL GAS
I know a great way to make cars more expensive and make “special” friends of our politicos rich, not to mention, making our woke people feel real good about themselves. Make all electric cars mandatory! Now, sure, a lot of burning is taking place, coal/NG/Nuclear, but the woke folk don’ take this into consideration!! if we need more power for all these electric cars and golf carts-BURN more coal!!! Yes indeed, utilities HAVE (not has) excess capacity, but if every vehicle in the US were to be an electric by next year…..we’d need to burn more, a lot more, facts are facts.
I’ve said alot of negative things about electric cars being that I’m a bit of a traditionalist and I can be a bit close minded and not always open to change. I grew up loving V8 muscle cars but times are changing and the change is inevitable whether we like it or not. I believe once a way is found to really harness renewable energy such as solar, wind and hydroelectricity, this new wave won’t be so bad. The main thing right now I feel is the fact that electric cars are “soulless.” they lack that truly engaging feel of a traditional car as they have no transmission and no real sound. However, I believe that the Gen-2 electric vehicles will be alot different. Manufacturers are already figuring out how to attach Dual-Clutch & Manual transmissions to electric motors and vehicles will be mandated to have some sort of sound to them. There are already companies out there that have devices to make electric cars sound like V8s and all of that kind of stuff but if it’s mandated who knows, Maybe companies like Borla, Akrapovic, Greddy and X-Force will develop their own unique “exhaust systems” for these vehicles with different exhaust tip styles to add customization to these new vehicles. Think of all of the 3D printed parts for suspension upgrades and all kinds of stuff that can be done and even upgrades to power. I’m a fan of high performance RC cars and these new cars are going to be alot like this. I’m also looking at tuning and things like that. I’m sure there are going to be ways to increase power via tuning. Also, like a computer, there are going to be really interesting cooling system upgrades and if you think about it like this. This new electric age might actually be alot of fun. Think about how loud car stereo systems can get, imagine that as an “Exhaust” system.
Just happened to think about something else. Electric cars can also help the NHRA and drag racing and all of that kind of stuff. With electric cars being quieter than high performance gas cars, you can now have drag strips closer to city areas. With that being said, you could have drag strips inside city limits which would cut down on street racing as it would give people a place to hang out, have fun and race legally along with having car meets and other “underground” events. you don’t have to worry about noise ordinances (as long as the people gathering can be respectful of the fact that people like to sleep at night) however if car event locations are placed near industrial or business districts or places like that, then it allows for people to enjoy the “Street racing” scene legally as it would be an actual place for people to be and sanctioned by the NHRA.
Another thing I thought of with the electric car thing. The Mustang Ecoboost has “fake” engine noise pumped in through the speakers, I’ve been in the ecoboost mustang and completely forgot about that and honestly, it sounds great for what it is. With companies out there like Harman and the other’s that are coming up with the EV sounds, For Ford, why not have a system that gives sounds reminiscent of the Focus RS, the Ecoboost Mustang or even the V8 Mustangs? The vehicle system should have it’s own separate speakers from the radio system with speakers under the hood, behind the dash pointing downward towards the footwells, in the B-pillar mounted low and an “exhaust” that actually megaphones the sound out from the back of the car and down on the ground via a sound box that acts like a subwoofer box in a car stereo system to add bass and balance to the vehicle’s exhaust note. Sound profiles should be able to be tunable by the driver to a tone that the owner would want. Just like how car stereo systems (and exhaust systems) sound different when different materials are used, these systems should be the same. Sound piping, cone material, sound box material, insulation materials, etc all play a part in what the vehicle’s “exhausts” systems would sound like, just like choosing between JBL, Rockford Fosgate, Pioneer, Memphis Audio, Magnaflow, Tanabe, etc. Not only would the “sound box and rear piping be able to be upgraded via aftermarket, the systems would include the interior speakers and underhood speakers where the underhood speakers would give more of the deep air induction sound to give performance enthusiasts that balanced sound they crave. I think this, along with Dual Clutch or Manual Transmissions will give people a better feel about the new electric cars.
Anyone in this group ever seen a high performance gaming computer?? Me being a performance enthusiast and someone who loves modifying things, I just thought about gaming computers and the fact that they have serious upgrades to their cooling systems along with cool lights, cases and all kinds of other crazy things. My point is, electronics get hot and need serious cooling systems, another area for tinkerers to modify high performance Electric vehicles is to upgrade the cooling systems. the cooler they are, the longer they run at optimal performance. I’m just thinking of the potential positives of the hostile EV takeover that is coming.
We should start stocking up on coal/NG nuclear fuel, as the need for much more electric will be coming, as as about 80% of our electric comes from these three sources, we need to stock pile now!