At this point, we’ve been waiting on the arrival of a Ford Mustang hybrid for quite a long time now, and in fact, The Blue Oval even officially announced that such a thing was in the works way back in 2017. At that time, FoMoCo stated that it would be investing $700 million in the Flat Rock Assembly plant in Michigan, where the pony car is built, in part to support production of a Ford Mustang hybrid V8 model slated to debut in 2020.
That never happened, but now, sources familiar with the matter have told Ford Authority that The Blue Oval currently has an S650 Ford Mustang hybrid model in operation – known internally as S650E. It’s unclear what sort of hybrid powertrain is present in this pony car – it could be a traditional hybrid or plug-in hybrid, however. It’s also unclear if this project will ever see the light of day, given the fact that the Trump administration has worked to relax fuel economy and emissions regulations for vehicles as of late, in general. That said, S650E prototypes are running around and have entered the Technology Prove-Out stage, meaning there’s mules being tested that likely feature some form of electrification.
Regardless, The Blue Oval previously announced that it planned to add some sort of hybrid powertrain option to every model in the ICE-focused Ford Blue lineup by 2030, and the Mustang just so happens to fall under that umbrella, making such a thing seem likely to happen. There are also a couple of other indicators that a Ford Mustang hybrid will eventually become a reality, based on comments from Ford CEO Jim Farley over the course of the past few months.
Back in August 2023, Farley poured cold water on a potential all-electric version of the iconic pony car, saying that the automaker would “probably not” go that particular route. However, at the same time, the exec also said that a “partially electrified Mustang coupe” was a strong possibility, too. Then, in August 2024, Farley revealed that Ford Performance (now known as Ford Racing) was working on testing hybrid powertrains, saying “we really do believe partial electric powertrains work well for performance drivers.”
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The Mustang GT3 has really come alive this season.
It's planning to build most of its U.S. models in the U.S. by 2030.
It could locate water sources and filter it so that it's safe to drink.
A bespoke process for a bespoke machine.
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Yes, PLEASE release it already. I've been holding off buying a new fun car to see what the new GT500 (or equivalent) is and still hoping for an awd V8 hybrid similar to the Corvette E-Ray.
Also, I highly recommend NOT putting "E" in a hybrid's name, especially this one. That definitely hurt the E-Ray.
You make a great point about the “E” I totally agree 👍
Spare tire or battery pack in the rear......I would take the spare 100%. And the weight....yikes! You may need to get a CDL and air brake certification pretty soon to drive these sleds.
The weight issue will indeed be an issue as to whether the increased output when considering a hybrid (possibly AWD as well) system, seeing as even the Stingray picked up an additional 265lbs from its hybrid system. And it can even be seem in the ZR1 and ZR1X where even though the X gains substantially more power, its performance gains are not as much as one would expect at a glance.
A hybrid version makes perfect sense in light of where drivetrain development is heading. If leveraged like it has been in the C8 Corvette, it could actually be a boon to performance. Emissions regulations notwithstanding, any transportation company that plans on being around in the future will pretty much ignore these temporary rollbacks.
A hybrid Mustang, both the V8 and Ecoboost would be welcome. Having a Mustang that can get 40 mpg and have the same power as current ICE models would be a big plus. Ford needs to get with the program.
I totally agree, this would pull in a lot of buyers and I would be one of them.
500HP, AWD, hybrid so getting 30+ MPG. I'd be in on that.
The main reason, aside from fuel economy, would be to FINALLY have an AWD Mustang that I could drive all year round. This would be a good seller, in my opinion.