The look and some specs on the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E electric crossover have already been seen, but as of 6:30 p.m. pacific time Sunday, Nov. 17, the car and even more details have officially been released. Here’s your complete download.
(Full Disclosure: The Ford Motor Company flew our own David Tracy out to Los Angeles and paid for his food and hotel accommodations to get an early peek at the Mustang Mach-E and do up a story on its engineering details. But after Jalopnik shared info about the car that Ford inadvertently posted on the internet early, the automaker disinvited Tracy from the tech event, after having said it wouldn’t, which seems like a waste of time and money, but what the hell do I know. Anyway, we won’t be able to do a Mach-E tech explainer as soon as we would have liked but Tracy got to join all the other shrimp-munchers in the media scrum at least.)
As a driving enthusiast, I’m still undecided on my interest level in the Mach-E but as an automotive historian and observer of the culture, I’m quite fascinated at the prospect of a mass-market electric vehicle ostensibly marketed as a performance car. We’ll have to wait a little longer to find out if it’s any good, but in the meantime, I’ll drop the relevant nuggets of Ford’s official release for you at the bottom here to chew on and interpret. This week we’ll have some takes and breakdowns as we learn more.
Meanwhile, I’ll gather the important numbers and claims for you up top. It looks like Ford is putting a lot of asterisks out with its specs, which, what the hell is that all about? It couldn’t have locked down some claims before the reveal party? Take these figures with even more salt than you’d usually heap on an automaker’s claims. So, like, all the salt. And maybe a margarita while you’re at it. Anyway, all this info’s from Ford directly. You can check out the press release for yourself if you think anything’s missing.
Two Drivetrain Options; ‘300 Miles’ Of Range Hopefully
There will be “standard” (75.7 kWh lithium-ion battery) and “extended-range” (98.8 kWh battery) options you’ll be able to order with rear-drive or all-wheel drive powered by permanent magnet motors. The extended-range battery and rear-wheel drive, variant, presumably the most frugal, is claiming a “targeted EPA-estimated range of at least 300 miles.”
“Designed for ease of manufacturing, the battery is located on the floor between the vehicle’s two axles – and tested at temperatures as extreme as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The batteries are secured inside a waterproof battery case surrounded by crash-absorption protection. They are liquid-cooled to optimize performance in extreme weather and to improve charging times.”
Charging
“Ford offers a Ford Connected Charging station that can add an estimated average range of 32 miles per charging hour on a 240V outlet, based on extended-range, rear-wheel-drive configuration.7 The Ford mobile charger, included with the vehicle, can add an estimated average range of 22 miles per charging hour on a 240V outlet.”
The FordPass Charging Network will have more than 12,500 charging stations “(and more than 35,000 charge plugs)” will have a peak charging rate of 150 kW. “The Mustang Mach-E with an extended battery and rear-wheel drive can add an estimated average of 47 miles of range in approximately 10 minutes while charging on a DC fast charging station,” as long as everything’s working right.
“The standard-range Mustang Mach-E is estimated to charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in approximately 38 minutes while charging on a DC fast charging station.”
Performance Trims
There will be two variants Ford’s calling “Special Performance Versions.”
GT “is targeting” a zero-60 time under four seconds while GT Performance “is targeting” a zero-60 time around 3.5 seconds. It’s supposed to put down “an estimated” 459 horsepower and 612 lb-ft of torque. MagneRide suspension will also be on this model.
New Flexira aluminum calipers made by Brembo will be optional, which apparently “maintain the functionality of a fixed caliper while being designed with the dimensions of a floating caliper.” We’ll have to look into the specifics of those later.
Mach-E will have three drive modes: Whisper, Engage and Unbridled which, I guess, are “efficient, normal, fast.” Or, Ying-Yang Twins, Jean-Luc Picard, and, I don’t know, Black Stallion? Is anybody else lame enough to find that funny?
The all-wheel drive version, Mach-E 4, will be the hot one because it “can apply torque independently to the front and rear axles to deliver impressive acceleration and improved handling over the rear-wheel drive model.”
There’s A New SYNC System With A Huge Screen
Ford’s next version of its SYNC infotainment operating system will debut in the Mach-E, running on a colossal 15.5-inch screen. Expect a lot of touch, swipe and pinch controlling there. Apparently it will be updated over-the-air, like other electric cars with similar infotainment rigs that you might have heard of.
Here’s a video demo of the system in action:
Cargo
The frunk (front-trunk) is drainable, which is neat, and claims 4.8 cubic feet of cargo capacity. There’s supposed to be 29 cubic feet of space in the rear trunk, and 59.6 cubic feet with back the seats down.
How To Buy One
You can reserve one of these cars with a $500 on the Mustang Mach-E reservation site, and Ford says it’s scheduling the first deliveries for spring, 2021. As for the price, as we got in last week’s leak:
“$43,895 Select model. It goes from there to the Premium at $50,600, onto the California Route 1 at $52,400, the limited First Edition at $59,900, and finally capping off with the top GT model at $60,500.
All prices are before the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.”