Is An Electric Change Coming to America’s Longest Running Race Series?
Oh Boy, Ford is at it again! First, the company has the temerity to name its first all-electric SUV after the iconic gasoline-burning, fire-breathing Mustang. Now, they have replaced the V8 in a NASCAR Cup Car with the Mach-E electric powertrain. Ford showed its NASCAR EV concept at the Chicago Street Course race in July 2024—and the outrage on the Internet was immediate and palpable among Blue Oval enthusiasts.
Telling the millions of die-hard NASCAR fans the Ford Mustang Mach-E NASCAR Demonstrator is only a design study and prototype will have no sway over their emotions. Blood pressures hit all-time highs.
To hopefully calm things down a bit, let’s take a look at what Ford has done with electrified powertrains for performance and racing vehicles. They have competed in the FIA Rally series in a Puma Hybrid and at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in an E-Transit Super Van and the F-150 Lighting EV SuperTruck (that made the fastest pass of all 61 competitors in 2024). Ford has built prototypes of an F-150 Lightning Switchgear EV (think Raptor without gasoline), Mustang Supra Cobra Jet EV drag car and a Mustang Mach-E 1400 drift car.
The Demo Details
Ford has revealed the basics about the NASCAR-inspired EV concept, which they call a “demonstrator.” “The new Mach-E demonstrator features components from the current NASCAR Cup Series car, including suspension, brakes, steering and wheels. It also features three motors, a full carbon fiber tub, and a 78 kWh battery.” But is it purely a demonstrator?
Our take is that those two motors in the front and one in the rear, backed by the 78 kWh battery pack, are good for 1,200 horsepower. That means this demonstrator is pretty far down the line in its development. While Ford says they used the suspension, brakes, steering and wheels from a current NASCAR Cup Car, the SUV shape of the Mach-E, the giant wing, and being significantly more powerful (1,200 hp versus 700 – 800 hp for the current V8) are the design changes they would need to make if they wanted to enter the Mustang Mach-E Demonstrator under the rules of the current series.
Ford says the Mustang Mach-E NASCAR Demonstrator shows the capabilities of an EV. They are looking to learn from motorsports things such as charging rates, aerodynamics, vehicle control and how those elements can be applied to a production vehicle.
The future of NASCAR will have some sort of electrified cars and trucks and the resources Ford is putting into it indicate it isn’t far off. We’re just trying to figure out how many laps you can get out of a 78 kWh battery—or whether pit stops will include battery swapping.
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Story by John Faulkner. Photos by Ford.
