|
Gotta love it when you have Mustang content following Mustang content, well I do anyway. In the post about the 2.3 EcoBoost Mustang I mentioned that I prefer the turbo 4 over the rumbling V8, and as predicted it caused a few arguments on somme online groups where the article was shared. It seems the general consensus is that if you want a Mustang, it must be the V8 or nothing. Well, if the entry 4-cylinder upset the purists and fans (many of whom mostly argue without having driven any kind of Mustang at all), then this new once-off prototype will have them wanting the Ford top brass hunted down and tortured. There was already an uproar in May when the all-electric Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 full electric dragster was released. Also a one-off prototype, that monster packs a whopping 1045kW of power and over 1 490Nm of instant torque. It was only a matter of time before the men in white coats from Ford Performance tried another mad project. For this one they roped in the talent from RTR for a collaboration and turned their attention and expertise to a different discipline, the result being The Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400, a vehicle set to tear up circuits with actual turns and banks - and drift like an absolute monster. From the release:“Now is the perfect time to leverage electric technology, learn from it, and apply it to our portfolio,” said Ron Heiser, chief programme engineer, Mustang Mach-E. “Mustang Mach-E is going to be fun to drive, just like every other Mustang before it, but Mustang Mach-E 1400 is completely insane, thanks to the efforts of Ford Performance and RTR.” The Mustang Mach-E 1400 is the result of 10,000 hours of collaboration by Ford Performance and RTR aimed at bridging the gap between what an electric vehicle can do and what customers tend to believe it can do. “Getting behind the wheel of this car has completely changed my perspective on what power and torque can be,” said Vaughn Gittin Jr., RTR Vehicles founder, motorsports champion and professional fun-haver. “This experience is like nothing you’ve ever imagined, except for maybe a magnetic roller coaster.” Mustang Mach-E 1400 has taken shape without rules. The Ford design team and RTR used many of the same tools Ford uses for its race cars and production programmes. Aerodynamics are optimised for shape and location, with a focus on cooling ducts, front splitter, dive planes and rear wing. Mustang Mach-E 1400 has seven motors – five more than even Mustang Mach-E GT. Three are attached to the front differential and four are attached to the rear in pancake style, with a single driveshaft connecting them to the differentials, which have a huge range of adjustability to set the car up for everything from drifting to high-speed track racing. “The challenge was controlling the extreme levels of power provided by the seven motors,” said Mark Rushbrook, motorsports director, Ford Performance. “Mustang Mach-E 1400 is a showcase of the art of the possible with an electric vehicle.” The chassis and powertrain are set up to allow the team to investigate different layouts and their effects on energy consumption and performance, including rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive and front-wheel drive. Drift and track setups have completely different front end configurations like control arms and steering changes to allow for extreme steering angles in drifting. Power delivery can be split evenly between front and rear, or completely to one or the other. Downforce is targeted at more than 1,000kg at 257km/h. The 56.8-kilowatt-hour battery (installed) is made up of nickel manganese cobalt pouch cells for ultra-high performance and high discharge rate. The battery system is designed to be cooled during charging using a di-electric coolant, decreasing the time needed between runs. An electronic brake booster is integrated to allow series regenerative braking combined with ABS and stability control to optimise the braking system. Mustang Mach-E 1400 features Brembo™ brakes, like the Mustang GT4 race car, and a hydraulic handbrake system designed for drifting that integrates with the powertrain controls to enable the ability to shut off power to the rear motors. Mustang Mach-E 1400, which is set to debut at a NASCAR race soon, serves as a test bed for new materials. The hood is made of organic composite fibres, a lightweight alternative to the carbon fibre that comprises the rest of the vehicle. Ford is investing more than $11.5 billion in electric vehicles worldwide and the Mustang is the perfect nameplate to start this exciting chapter in electric vehicles. |