Ford has unveiled its vision for the future of performance cars in an extremely powerful Ford Mustang coupe with electric motors and a manual transmission.
Recognising that enthusiasts and boy-racers might not like the sort of one-pedal drive experience offered by the likes of Nissan’s Leaf, Ford put a race-bred clutch and six-speed manual transmission behind the enormously powerful electric motor in a show car built for SEMA in Las Vegas.
Most electric cars have a single-speed direct-drive transmission. But Ford is experimenting with a more engaging three-pedal arrangement to keep enthusiasts on side.
Ford says the Mustang Lithium concept “amps muscle car performance to a new level and helps gauge the level of interest the next wave of performance customers have in lightning-quick performance that only fully electric powertrains can deliver”.
Read more: Shelby joins NZ market with 800hp Mustang Super Snake
The blue oval won’t say exactly how powerful the car is, only that it makes more than 900 horsepower (662kW), or about twice as much as a 5.0-litre V8 Mustang. Peak torque is off the charts at more than 1350Nm – nearly triple what you get from a Ford Ranger ute.
That power is made possible by an 800 volt Webasto battery and cutting-edge supporting hardware.
On the inside, a new portrait-orientated display offers access to four different driving settings, including a new setting known as beast mode. Blue trim reflects the car’s electric nature, and Brembo brakes pinched from the Shelby GT350R Mustang help keep performance in check.
Don’t expect Ford to offer a production performance coupe with earth-shattering performance in the near future.
But the brand will redefine its Mustang brand with what it describes as “an all-new Mustang-inspired fully electric SUV”. On sale next year in the US, the electric Mustang SUV will offer a usable range of 300 miles (482km) along with styling elements borrowed from Ford’s famous performance coupe. Expect it to have four doors and a coupe-like roofline similar to BMW’s X6.
Full details surrounding the machine will emerge at its global debut at the LA motor show on November 17.
- news.com.au
