While electric vehicles offer up a few advantages over gas-powered vehicles – namely, the ability to charge overnight at home with cheap electricity – petrolheads are still understandably hesitant to make the switch. Ford knows this and discovered via a recent survey that a whopping 70 percent of participants say they would miss the smell of gas the most after switching to an EV, so it created a premium Ford Mustang Mach-E GT fragrance dubbed “Mach-Eau” which the automaker revealed at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
“Judging by our survey findings, the sensory appeal of petrol cars is still something drivers are reluctant to give up,” said Jay Ward, director, Ford of Europe Product Communications. “The Mach-Eau fragrance is designed to give them a hint of that fuel-fragrance they still crave. It should linger long enough for the GT’s performance to make any other doubts vaporize too.”
This isn’t the first time Ford has rolled out a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E-inspired product, as it created a one-off hot sauce earlier this year to try and replicate the experience of riding in the Mach-E 1400. Now, we have the Mustang Mach-E GT fragrance, which is very real, yet also a marketing stunt that won’t be on the shelves at our local retailers anytime soon.
Mach-Eau is also somewhat of a nod to the fictional cologne dubbed “Sex Panther” from the hit comedy flick Anchorman, which was described by Will Ferrell’s character Ron Burgandy as smelling like “pure gasoline,” but we’re pretty sure it isn’t made from bits of real panther, nor is it likely illegal in nine countries. Regardless, Ford may be on to something, as its study found that the smell of gas is more pleasing to most than wine, cheese, and even a new book.
Ford tapped fragrance consultant Olfiction to develop Mach-Eau, and the company immediately went to work capturing all of the elements of an ICE-powered Ford Mustang in a bottle – not just gasoline. That includes an “animal” element designed to emulate the scent of a horse, blue ginger, lavender, para-cresol, geranium, and sandalwood, which were used to add hints of rubber, smoke, and metallic, and benzaldehyde, which gives off a smell reminiscent of a new car interior.
Ford’s cologne isn’t available to the public, and we’re not so sure anyone would buy it if it was. But perhaps in the future, when ICE-powered vehicles are a thing of the past, there might just be a market for such a product.
We’ll have more interesting ideas like this to share soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Mustang Mach-E news and ongoing Ford news coverage.
Comments
I’ll betcha Brett attended the Journalism School of Fake News. Either that or Farley gave him the idea.
The Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore Edition? “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
That bottle is banging. 👍👌