Vaughn Gittin Jr. Teases Ford Mustang Surprise, July 21

We bet that Gittin is working on a drifting video with the Ford Mustang Mach E.

Ford has taken the controversial approach of making the new electric vehicle part of the Mustang family, although the Mach E is nothing like any pony car in the company’s storied history. While there is some exterior styling that can be compared to the current Mustang, the Mach E is a four-door crossover with an all-electric powertrain. As far as most hardcore Mustang fans are concerned, any real Mustang is a two-door car with a powerful, gasoline-fed engine. Those enthusiasts can deal with a traditionally shaped pony car with an electric drivetrain, but many fans of the legendary performance car reject the Mach E based on the shape.

With that in mind, Ford is clearly making some marketing moves to make the Mach E feel more like a proper Mustang. A recent spy video of a modified Mach E doing some drifting arrived online and many people speculated that it was being driven by Ken Block. We would bet that it was actually Vaughn Gittin Jr. at the helm and he was working on whatever he will debut on July 21. That spy video is included at the end of this piece.

Mustang Instagram Teaser

The video below from the RTR Vehicles Instagram account begins with a look at a blue glowing Ford Mustang logo. It appears to be the same glowing logo that is found on the grille of the upcoming Mach E electric vehicle. That glowing logo is quickly replaced by a panning shot of a large expanse of asphalt that is covered with marks left behind by burnouts or drifting. There is seriously a ton of tire tracks on the pavement, so someone has clearly been doing lots of burnouts, lots of drifting or lots of both.

The soundtrack of this mysterious Ford Mustang video begins with a screeching sound that we believe is a modified electric drive being pushed to extreme high performance limits. It sounds a great deal like the car in the video showing the Mach E being tested. As the video continues, we can hear the roar of a V8 engine, with the first sound blending in for the duration of the teaser video. In short, it sounds like a built V8 and a built electric drivetrain being worked hard.

Drifting Mach E

After watching the IG video, watch the YouTube video at the bottom of this piece for comparison. We think that the car in the video sounds like the Instagram teaser, so we are guessing that on July 21, Vaughn Gittin Jr. will issue a video of the drift champion hooning a modified Ford Mustang Mach E alongside his V8-powered Mustang drift race car.

It will be interesting to see if the car that is showcased in the video on July 21 is stripped down like the car in the video below. If Ford is looking to showcase the Mach E as the newest high performance Mustang by doing “Mustang things”, it would make more sense for the vehicle to be recognizable. With any luck, the body work for the drift-ready Mach E was still being built when the spy video below was filmed, but in any case, our safe money says that we will get our first high performance footage of the Mustang Mach E on July 21.

Photos: Ford

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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