Most of you will know about the Ford Mustang Mach-E by now. As controversial as it is, the Blue Oval has clearly joined the effort in giving the EVs of tomorrow a kick in the spice department. However, it turns out that the electrified pony car was very close to never materializing.
Before its release, Ford wanted to take inventory of the products in the pipeline, and see where they could improve. The focal point of proceedings focused on the Mach-E prototype – before any mention of giving it a Mustang badge – and its bland aesthetic. Looking ahead, the top brass realized that the concept wasn’t a proper breakthrough moment.
“When I first saw it … I said, ‘Oh, boy. Houston we have a problem” said Jim Farley, President of Ford global markets. “The vehicle looked like a science project.”
Just as they did when they aimed to challenge Ferrari at LeMans, the American automaker came to realize the need to stand out. Aside from going racing, the same goal of leading rather than following the crowd shines through. However, it wasn’t all that easy to convince Bill Ford – a longtime fan of the classic Mustang – to give the SUV a pony-car badge and silhouette.
After much deliberation, the Mustang Mach-E debuted at the L.A. Auto Show in November 2019. Aside from the controversy surrounding its form factor and powertrain, we’d be remiss not to mention that its miniscule impact on the environment means the Mustang that we all know and love isn’t going anywhere – gifting the pony car’s V8 powerplant a new lease on life.
Semantics aside, Mach-E customers aren’t necessarily getting a lousy vehicle as a result. The Performance edition is capable of sprinting to 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in 3.5 seconds – not shocking for an EV, but impressive for a vehicle of its form factor.