The Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally debuted last September as a rally racing-inspired EV that seemingly came out of left field, as such a thing isn’t exactly common in today’s automotive landscape. We later learned that the idea for the new Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally came from a group of off-road enthusiasts within The Blue Oval, and once such a thing was green lighted by upper management, it only took a year to develop. Now, with the Mach-E Rally set to launch in both North America and Europe soon, the automaker has shared a few details about how this improbable EV off-roader came to fruition.
After someone presented the idea of creating a rally-inspired version of the Mach-E in the engineering breakroom one day, product planners Peter Schultz and Craig Migliori decided to take a regular old GT model, install some new wheels and off-road tires on it, and head up to Ford’s Michigan Proving Grounds to see if it could handle some laps in the dirt. Turns out, it was surprisingly good in that type of setting, which is what led to the development of a production version of that one-off creation.
However, more testing was obviously needed to dial in the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally, and that’s where the company’s off-road attributes engineer, Chris Berchin, and vehicle engineering supervisor, Jay Kistler, come in. The duo subjected a prototype to a 500-mile torture test at the Michigan Proving Grounds that simulated 10 years of monthly rallycross racing in a short period of time, and since then, the track has been fully converted into a rallycross circuit. As for the team that helped bring the Mach-E Rally to life, they received a Vehicle Engineering Validation award from Ford – an internal honor that celebrates projects designed and realized entirely in-house.
“We tested in numerous different weather scenarios and temperatures with conditions ranging from muddy to dry – typical of what rallycross competitors might face,” Berchin said. “Likewise, the surface is dirt of varying composition, allowing for different traction scenarios.”
We’ll have more on the Mach-E Rally soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Mustang Mach-E news and non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
No HVBJB issues during testing? A known issue for the model.
Sorry, the Mach E is just another CUV grandma’s car. It doesn’t matter what you tack onto it or where you try to race it at.
This is a superb rally car. The only other car thst can match it is a Tesla Model Y Performance, but it costs twice as much!
Besides, only sports guys drive Mach-E cars, not your Grandma.
Sports car guys drive a real Mustang. CUVs are almost always driven by old women. They really are the perfect vehicles for them, no shame to it, but they are designed for them. The height makes it easy for them to get in and out of. And the smaller size makes it easier for them to maneuver and gives them confidence.
All this nonsense about a “real” Mustang. I love your average V8 Mustang more than the next guy, including yourself, so you understand I mean it when I say it’s time for grown men to stop whining baout a car that no one is being forced to buy. The Mustang Mach E is a real Mustang. It doesn’t take the form factor you prefer and isn’t propelled by some arbitrary configuration and cylinder count, let alone by internal combustion, but despite that, it’s a Mustang.
You’d be wise to accept it, but that seems unlikely if you haven’t by now.
CUV’s are very popular with younger people and aren’t specifically designed with any demographic in mind. Its more a way to get people a vehicle that can do a lot of things and isn’t particularly bad at most of them.