The insane 1,400 hp Mustang Mach-E and Pike’...

So Ford has constructed a customized 1,400 hp Mustang Mach-E to race up one mountain as soon as. Why did they do that? What are the advantages of constructing such an excessive automobile for one race solely? Have they achieved this earlier than? And what’s the mountain in query?

Ever see the film Ford v Ferrari? That is your clue. Racing is glamorous, maybe as a result of it’s harmful. It’s harmful as a result of it entails making excessive vehicles and pushing them to their limits, and typically far past. Ford v Ferrari was about constructing a car to win at Le Mans, a 24-hour endurance race. Nevertheless, the Tremendous Mustang was constructed for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, a timed race solely 12.42 miles lengthy, however one which takes below ten minutes for a successful efficiency. Completely different races and completely different calls for, however they’ve the identical outcomes — the cutting-edge expertise developed to compete with one of the best on the planet at this time might be within the automobile you drive tomorrow.

Racing isn’t just glamour and daring. As we speak’s racing expertise will evolve into tomorrow’s electrical manufacturing vehicles, with crucial developments of the battery, motors, regen brakes, suspension, aerodynamics, and extra.

The Pikes Peak Tremendous Mustang

Taking the Mach-E to new heights

The particular calls for of Pikes Peak, and two earlier years of operating excessive EV racers up that mountain decided Ford’s design standards for the Tremendous Mustang. Though primarily based on the favored Mustang Mach-E EV, the Tremendous Mustang is a a lot wilder horse than the road-legal model you should purchase. All the pieces about this Mustang is concentrated on energy, grip, weight, and brakes.

Huge energy

The Tremendous Mustang makes use of three STARD UHP 6-Part motors to provide over 1,400 hp. STARD is an Austrian EV racing analysis and improvement specialist. The high-performance batteries function at 799V, however STARD managed to lose over 260 kilos of weight, with regenerative braking of 710 kW.

The wrong way up

Ford didn’t reveal the Tremendous Mustang’s weight, but it surely needs to be considerably lower than the usual Mach-E’s 4,800 lbs. With 6,900 kilos of downforce at 150 mph, this automobile might technically drive the wrong way up on the roof of a tunnel with out falling off.

Pikes Peak, with all these tight turns and infrequently nasty climate, requires good brakes and numerous grip on the street. Carbon brakes, cast magnesium wheels, and Pirelli P-Zero tires work with the downforce to maintain this automobile glued to the curvy monitor.

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Supervan and supertruck

The primary two mad designs

This Mustang is Ford’s third profitable EV entry on this grueling race in three years, and — regardless of its outlandish appears and OTT aerodynamics — probably the most regular Ford EV to race there. In 2023, Ford entered an electrical Transit van that gained its class, and final 12 months, an F-150 Lightning, Ford’s EV model of its best-selling truck that broke the file time and gained general.

Each autos had been considerably modified, to say the least. The physique panels had been nearly solely constructed from carbon fiber, and the chassis made tremendous sturdy and really gentle. Each van and truck had been pushed by Romain Dumas, who additionally drove the Tremendous Mustang. Dumas has gained at Pikes Peak a number of occasions earlier than, in addition to at Le Mans, 24 Hours Nürburgring, and 24 Hours Spa.

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Pikes Peak

A brutal problem

Hill climb racing is a really specialised competitors, and Pikes Peak in Colorado might be probably the most difficult of all of them. The primary problem is the altitude. At over 14,000 ft above sea degree, air is already skinny sufficient to make regular automobile engines wheeze.

The massive drawback is that the race begins decrease and positive aspects over 4,700 ft earlier than reaching the highest. This huge acquire in altitude is reached in solely 12.4 miles, and the drop in air stress is a part of the problem of hill climbing. To beat this, racers use turbos to maintain the stress up, and these days, EVs — which require no air to run.

Sharp turns and sheer cliffs

In its 4,700 ft climb, Pikes Peak snakes up the mountain with 156 tight curves, typically with steep cliffs and no guardrails. Racers typically hit speeds of over 140 mph between the curves. 2025 was the 103rd operating of this iconic race, which Ford first entered in 1916 with a Mannequin T.

Within the early days, the race street was tough gravel, with paving beginning within the Nineteen Eighties and ending in 2011. But the successful time within the first race was 21 minutes, lower than 14 minutes greater than the file time set in 2018.

Second place, however…

The Tremendous Mustang, regardless of its hectic engineering, got here second general this 12 months. Whereas there are not any ensures in a race like this, this end result was in all probability influenced by the race being shortened and ending at a a lot decrease altitude, negating the EVs aggressive benefit.

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The Ford Mustang Mach-E

Bestselling Mustang

Ford

Let’s take a step again to the Ford Mustang, the long-lasting American muscle automobile that impressed a whole class of comparable vehicles. Ford Mustangs have appeared in lots of motion pictures, together with a number of of the James Bond classics.

The Ford Mustang was launched in 1964 and outlined efficiency coupes and convertibles as much as the current. It’s the longest-running Ford nameplate, reaching 10m gross sales in 2018. So Ford made an enormous gamble when it launched the Mustang Mach-E, a devoted EV in a low-slung SUV format, in 2021. This gamble paid off, as a result of final 12 months, the Mach-E outsold the ICE Mustang by a substantial margin. The highest trim Mach-E is fairly spicy with 348 hp and three.3 seconds to succeed in 60 mph, so a 1,400 hp model is a big step up.

You’ll in all probability by no means see a 1,400 hp avenue Mach-E, however might this Tremendous Mustang encourage Ford to deliver out a extremely spicy Mach-E? I reside in hope.