Ford has taken its first electric SUV and given it a performance upgrade that’ll see it destroy a V8 Mustang GT in the sprint to 60 miles per hour. But that surge in speed will come at a hefty price.
The new Mustang Mach-E GT and Mach-E GT Performance Edition will see a jump from the Mustang Mach-E's maximum 346 horsepower to 480hp. That means both of the Mach-E GT models have 20hp more than the gas-guzzling Mustang GT.
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From the moment the pedal hits the floor, Mach-E GT will kick out 600 pound-feet of torque, and the GT Performance Edition has 643 lb-ft on tap, with that power going to all four wheels.
That means the Mach-E GT will go from zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds and the Mach-E GT Performance Edition will do it in 3.5 seconds. In comparison, the V8 Mustang GT has 420 lb-ft and takes some 4.5 seconds to hit 60 mph from a standing start.
But all this electric crossover power comes at a price. The Mustang Mach-E GT and GT Performance models start at $59,900 and $64,900 respectively. That’s some $24,000 more than the V8 Mustang GT.
Furthermore, Mustang purists could argue that despite the performance-oriented features of the new Mach-E models, they aren’t true Mustang cars. After all, the whine of a pair of faster electric motors arguably can’t match the guttural roar of a V8 engine in setting a driver’s spine tingling.
While the Mustang has evolved since its debut in 1964, it remained a muscle car for going fast in straight lines, seemingly not trying to ape the sharpness of sports cars like the Porsche 911.
But the Mustang Mach-E is more or a rival for Tesla than an evolution of the Mustang car. It’s nearest competitor is the Performance iteration of the Tesla Model Y, a crossover with around 450hp that’s able to hit 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. Starting at around $60,000 the Model Y Performance looks ready to square off against Mach-E, in the U.S. at least, as it has yet to hit U.K. roads.
The Model Y appears to have the advantage when it comes to range, with it able to go in excess of 300 miles on a single charge. The Mach-E GT and GT Performance Edition are looking at 250 miles and 235 miles per charge respectively.
But the GT-model Mach-E cars have been tuned to deliver more performance-focussed handling. This includes a track-centric “Unbridled Extend” driving mode designed to let you get maximum power from the motors yet get more laps out of the 88kWh battery pack.
You’re also getting a lot more performance styling on the Mustang Mach-E than on the Tesla Model Y. The latter looks more at home serenely wafting along Californian roads, where as the Mach-E might not be a Mustang of old, it still looks like it can leave lengthy tire marks in tarmac.
Orders for the Mustang Mach-E GT and GT Performance Edition will start on April 28, with the cars looking to be delivered this fall.
How well these cars will keep the legacy of the Mustang alive a card drive further towards electrification, remains an open question. But if Ford can deliver dynamic driving experiences without all the gas guzzling, then we’re hopeful that the sun won’t be setting on the Mustang just yet.
