An electrifying first look at Ford’s Mustang Mach-E NASCAR EV prototype

Last summer, NASCAR unveiled an EV prototype sporting a generic CUV body (created in an exercise with the series’ manufacturers) to explore the potential future of the stock car sport. Now we’re getting a first look at what a manufacturer-specific version might look like with Ford’s launch of its Mustang Mach-E NASCAR EV prototype.

The American automaker sees the prototype as an opportunity to educate NASCAR about electric power by adapting the Mustang Mach-E to the NASCAR BEV prototype platform. It’s based on the NASCAR Next Gen architecture and features a modified version of the chassis that is used for the Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series. Height was added to the center section of the chassis to better replicate the crossover look, while steel panels typically located in the center section of the vehicle — like the firewall and floors — have been replaced with carbon fiber for weight reduction. The Mach-E demonstrator also borrows many components from the current Cup Series car including suspension, brakes, steering, and wheels. While the 18-inch BBS wheels are carried over directly from the Cup car, the Goodyear tires are customized for the power characteristics and weight of an EV. 

The Mach-E demonstrator clocks in at just over 4,000 pounds — making it roughly 500 pounds heavier than the Cup Series Mustang. To compensate for that weight discrepancy, Ford has employed three Stard electric motors that are supported by two gearboxes. There is one motor in the front and two motors in the rear that combined create a maximum system output of 1,360 horsepower at 15,000 RPM when in qualifying mode. There is also a race mode map which sets output at a maximum of 816 horsepower.

Those electric motors are supported by a 78 kWh battery pack that employs glycol cooling in order to keep temperatures in check as it operates at 756 volts. Made up of stacked pouch cells, it sits in the passenger side of the cabin where it can be removed from the bottom of the car when service is necessary. While the battery pack is located in that single location, the weight distribution is still very similar to the NASCAR Cup car which allows for proper balance on track.

Photo by: Ford Performance

Chassis components all transfer over from the generic NASCAR BEV prototype, but the bodywork is all new and customized using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to match the Mustang Mach E production vehicle. The original NASCAR prototype featured flax composite bodywork but the Mach E moves to a more traditional carbon fiber composite.

The NASCAR Mustang Mach-E has already been tested in various configurations as it completed road course testing at Carolina Motorsports Park and oval testing at Martinsville Speedway. Since it shares suspension components with the NASCAR Next Gen car, it can easily be adapted to run on a variety of tracks. But its purpose, according to Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Performance, will be relegated to educating the public.

Photo by: Ford Performance

“The start of that project goes back several years and it’s all in the same spirit of what we did with the CobraJet in NHRA,” Rushbrook told Motorsport.com. “Part of it is to learn about the technology in a certain motorsports discipline, but also to put that technology in front of the fans and potential customers in that form of motorsport to also gauge their reaction and similarly bring them along for that journey.

Ford has yet to share any debut plan for the prototype, but indicates it will be used for demo runs, joining Ford’s demonstrator fleet alongside vehicles like the SuperTruck and SuperVan which have been used in exhibitions around the world.

Photo by: Ford Performance