With so much focus on going all-electric, it stands to reason that automakers would be interested in showing what they can do with EV technology in motorsports as well as on public roads. Ford Performance is taking a different approach to electrification, however, and that includes sitting out Formula E, the premiere global series for EV racing.
In a report from Autoweek, Mark Rushbrook, head of Ford Performance, said that Formula E just wasn’t what The Blue Oval was looking for in an EV motorsports division. He commended the series for what it does, but said that he’s just not sold on electrification in motorsports quite yet.
“We didn’t see the right electric series. We didn’t find one that really provided what we wanted, in terms of reaching the right fans, the innovation and tech transfer that we were looking for,” Rushbrook said. “Kudos to Formula E, right? They’ve been in existence since 2015, so 10 years now. They’ve had success, for sure, to still be running… It just wasn’t right for us in terms of what we wanted to be able to learn.”
Another key reason for the lack of Ford Performance involvement in Formula E lies with the motorsports fanbase as a whole.
“But the fact that we don’t see a lot more series switching to full electric, I think is a signal that that’s not what the fans want to watch as a technology now,” Rushbrook said. “The full electric technology is actually very good on the road with the right use case, but in racing, it hasn’t provided the spectacle per se, that the fans want to see. It doesn’t have the same sound or the smells or the feel and the vibration.”
For now, Ford is focused on building EV demonstrators, or one-off projects that show off sheer EV power. As far as motorsports goes, The Blue Oval is contributing engine tech to the F1 Red Bull project, and Ford Performance is currently in the process of testing hybrid engines for use in its roadgoing performance models. But don’t worry, Ford isn’t planning on axing its internal combustion engine-based performance models anytime soon.
Comments
Agreed. The roar of the engines and feeling they produce in your chest at a NASCAR race or at a drag strip can’t be matched by by a boring EV. Even at an autocross event, watching a Tesla run vs the other cars is boring. Sound matters, there’s a reason they spend a lot of money on the sound effects and soundtracks for movies.
Many years ago at an autocross, a friend had a BMW M3 and that was so quiet, not even tire squeal that it was like watching TV with the sound turned way down.
That is sort of like an EV race.
I don’t think racing, period, has anywhere near the attraction that it used to. I was an avid fan of NASCAR for years and even lived in Charlotte, but I haven’t watched a race in over 5 years now. Got that, Jimbo?
Formula E is boring. It’s not fun to watch.
NASCAR ruined itself much like most other major sport leagues in an effort to woo people who weren’t ever going to be fans.
Endurance racing is still fun, as is rally, but harder to get access to.
What would be great is ACTUAL STOCK CARS racing. I have no interest in some tune frame car with a body that sort of resembles a car on the market. I want to see what a real car i can go buy can do on a track.
Idk man I have gotten my friend group (all under 30) to start religiously watching nascar over the last couple years and they love it (but are also not excited about EVs)
If you wanna see your “REAL STOCK CARS” then go support your local short track, mate