While still nearly a year away from launch, the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT already is getting a steroid boost.
We expected the GT, the top package for the new battery-electric vehicle, to be quick, Ford hinting it would hit 60 in less than 4 seconds. But with the Performance Edition upgrade announced today, it will nearly match the numbers delivered by the Shelby GT500, hitting 60 in just 3.5 seconds.
“We already pushed the envelope by creating an electric vehicle with the pony badge, so it’s only natural that we push it even further,” Darren Palmer, Ford’s global director of battery electric vehicles, said in a statement. “Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition not only gives you the added performance you expect from the GT name, but accentuates the thrill with the responsiveness of an all-electric powertrain.”
(Ford Mustang Mach-E captures Green Car of the Year honor.)
When Ford first revealed the Mustang Mach-E at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show, it said there would be three distinct versions:
- The base model using a 210 kilowatt motor on the back axle;
- The mid-range model adding a 50 kW motor on the front axle to create an all-wheel-drive system; and the Mach-E GT going with 210 kW motors on both axles while also adding torque vectoring.
The base car, set to begin charging into showrooms before year-end, will deliver 250 hp and 300 lb-ft. The Mach-E GT – which won’t arrive until summer 2021 – punches that up to 459 hp and 612 lb-ft.
In typical fashion for a car bearing the Mustang badge, however, Ford engineers found ways to punch things up even further, the 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition set to churn out a full 480 hp (or 358 kilowatts) and 634 lb-ft of torque.
To put things into perspective, the Shelby GT500’s beastly 5.2-liter V-8 makes a neck-snapping 760 horsepower, a full 280 more than the Mach-E GT Performance Edition is set to deliver. But, at 625 pound-feet of torque, it actually falls slightly short of the first all-electric vehicles – and the first SUV – ever to bear the Mustang badge.
One also has to recognize that, even with its massive supercharger, the GT500’s V-8 needs to rev up to hit peak, tire-spinning torque. Electric motors, like those in the Mach-E GT, effectively deliver maximum torque the moment they start turning.
(Ford cutting price of Mustang Mach-E by $3,000.)
With a 3.5-second 0-60, the Performance Edition GT will be one of the fastest EVs on the market, short of the wave of new exotics in the supercar and hypercar category. It’s still slower than a Tesla Model X with the performance package, which can hit 60 in 2.6 seconds, but the best Tesla currently delivers with the apples-to-apples Model Y is a 4.1-second launch.
As other manufacturers have learned with their performance-tuned BEVs, that kind of power creates a serious challenge: ensuring all that torque gets to the pavement. So, Ford will shoe the Performance Edition with 245/45R20 Pirelli summer tires mounted on 20-inch machined-face Ebony Black wheels.
There’ll be a number of other upgrades, as well, to enhance the upgraded model ‘s handling and braking. That includes 19-inch front brakes with red Brembo calipers, along with a performance-tuned Magneride suspension.
Inside, drivers will find special “performance-sculpted” seats with metallic stitching and Miko perforated reflective inserts. The instrument panel will add a unique aluminum applique. The exterior will be distinguished by a “carbonized” grille and a special Performance Edition GT badge on the back end.
Along with the three different powertrain configurations, the Mustang Mach-E will be offered with two different battery packs. The base one, storing 74 kilowatt-hours of usable energy, will yield 210 miles per charge, according to official EPA numbers released last week. The extended-range 98 kWh pack, the agency concluded, should deliver 300 miles, matching Ford’s preliminary estimate.
In the Performance Edition, however, that will be cut to 235 miles, Ford said Tuesday.
(Ford will let you customize your new Mustang Mach-E before taking delivery.)
The base Mustang Mach-E starts at $42,895 – before factoring in options, delivery fees and federal and state tax credits. While you can now order all versions of the battery car, Ford isn’t yet saying what the final price tag will be for either the Mach-E GT or the Performance Edition.
