Ford Teases New Mustang Inspired Electric Vehicle

Some might argue that the Ford Mustang in the 1968 movie Bullitt provided more satisfying dialogue than the laconic Bullitt (played by Steve McQueen) himself. The car chase scene with the sound of those deftly manipulated gear changes is certainly satisfyingly mesmerising. But would a Ford Mustang with an electric engine still really be able to be called a Mustang?

To be fair, Ford are currently describing their planned electric SUV as ‘Mustang inspired’; maybe to help quell the unrest that they can surely sense bubbling under the surface from die-hard V8 fans and thus fend off the V8 villagers with burning torches from the front door of Ford HQ. But any use of such an iconic name is surely going to attract more than its fair share of attention – and not necessarily for positive reasons. Ford is surely taking a gamble here.

Either way, we don’t have long to wait now – just under two weeks and any doubters might be swung around. Ford Motor Company plan to reveal the Mustang (inspired) EV SUV on November 18 this year at the Los Angeles Auto Show at the LA Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The forthcoming Mustang EV had previously been rumoured to be given the name Mach 1 upon release; now that is a definite throwback to the famous Mustang Mach 1 that lasted ten years from 1968. But as time has moved on, it is now looking increasingly likely that the new electric Ford SUV Mustang will be called appropriately enough, the Mach-E.

There’s not much else to go on yet of course, though the released teaser outline shots do show that the SUV will have the triple rear light configuration on either side – a striking feature of the Ford Mustang. Aside from that, what little we can glean so far from these silhouettes is that it does look quite like a Mustang…

As far as fitting into the modern world goes, we can expect a crossover SUV vehicle that might well be competing up against the BMW X4 and its like. The Ford Mach-E has been mooted to arrive with an agreeable battery range of around 370 miles, with a lesser-range option coming in at a lower price point. The SUV will sit on the new Ford platform that supports all-wheel and standard 2-wheel drive vehicles.

The new Mach-E/Mach 1 comes at a time when we know that Ford is embracing electric vehicle technology with gusto, with a planned £9.8 billion investment programme and 16 full EVs planned by 2022. Though while many high profile manufacturers have decided to start afresh with their electric vehicles – avoiding any confusion or grey areas surrounding existing models – Ford has seemingly chosen to bravely embrace a classic icon of its past.

Now, the classic Mustang has always been known for that throaty Bullitt V8 sound, so will this end up being a massive marketing error from Ford Motor Company or have they just decided to turn off onto a brave new road speeding off into a traffic-free distance carving out their own EV history? Only time will tell and we haven’t long to wait.