Ford Mustang Mach-E Prototype Is a Proper Drift Missile

By John Coyle - July 16, 2020

There’s plenty of tire smoke, but no front or rear clip, in this footage of a mysterious Mustang Mach-E testing.

With 459 horsepower and a whopping 612 pound-feet of torque, the GT is — at least officially — the fastest version of the new Mustang Mach-E. That’s a respectable amount of grunt, even if no power figure can fully erase the fact that Ford slapped a Mustang badge on an electric crossover. But we digress.

In this new spy video from YouTuber Carolina Guy, we just got an — albeit pretty obstructed — peek at what might be an even-hotter version of the Blue Oval’s next-gen green machine.

As eagle-eyed readers might note, this prototype is missing some bits at the front and rear, and the antics it’s pulling on the skidpad at the North Carolina Center for Automotive Research wouldn’t be out of place at the House of Drift. Who knows, maybe the bodywork is missing because the development drivers are fresh out of zip ties? But all kidding aside, this baby looks seriously quick, and we think the angry whirling of the powertrain sounds wicked.

Now, between the trees blocking the view, Blair Witch-style camerawork, and general brevity of the video, pulling decent stills was tough. When you’re watching the clip, however, there’s no mistaking the fat meats at each corner and giant fans front and rear. There’s also a red roll cage visible while the driver is making the donuts.

While the fans are obviously for battery cooling, and the cage is there for safety, as entertaining as the video is, there’s not a ton of info here.

From what we can tell, it looks like the rear glass and surrounding support is MIA as well, which makes us think this is bare-bones powertrain development mule. Where the powertrain will wind up, or whether it’ll find a home anywhere, is anyone’s guess. But given how many tiers of performance Mustangs there are above the basic GT in the traditional stable, there’s a possibility we could be looking at the guts of something akin to a Shelby or a Mach 1-style offering. And while we’re no marketing experts? We don’t see Mach-1 Mach-E making it past a focus group.

An electric Shelby, as this render shows, could be an intriguing proposition. But we figure Ford would wait for the Mach-E to mature slightly as a model before offering a weapons-grade version. Between recent unveiling of the latest F-150 and the extremely leaked and highly anticipated Bronco there’s no shortage of new product on the horizon from the Blue Oval, and the brass likely wouldn’t want to risk anything as significant as an electric Shelby getting lost in the shuffle.

So what do you think is happening in this video? Is it just a development driver blowing off some steam at the end of a session? Is this a purpose built-rig to test some specific nuance of the Mach-E’s greasy bits? Check out the video, then head to the forum and chime in with your thoughts!