Following on the heels of two SuperVans and a SuperTruck, Ford unveiled a Mustang Mach-E NASCAR prototype on Thursday. While NASCAR doesn’t currently organize a racing series for electric vehicles, you will be able to see this Mach-E stock car going flat-out this year. Ford plans to race the demonstrator at the 2025 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
Not much is known about the NASCAR Mustang Mach-E’s specifications, but the few details available align with the EV prototype that ABB developed in partnership with NASCAR last July. Both vehicles feature a tri-motor all-wheel-drive layout underneath a crossover SUV-style body, and both are fitted with a 78-kWh liquid-cooled battery. Ford didn’t state any power output numbers, but the ABB-branded machine can produce 1,300 horsepower. Crucially, both prototypes share the same brakes, steering, suspension and wheels as the current NASCAR Cup Series cars.
The similarities aren’t surprising because all three NASCAR Cup Series manufacturers, Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota, helped develop the ABB EV prototype. The Mustang Mach-E will likely be the first of three stock car EVs unveiled this year. It’s unclear if they will ever race against each other. NASCAR’s only concrete goal is reducing its emissions to zero by 2035. Many technologies refined for the demonstrators, such as the flax-based composites used for the bodywork, could be incorporated into combustion stock cars.
Ford is no stranger to developing electric racing machines from exhibitions. The Blue Oval won last year’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb with the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck. While nominally based on the electric pickup, the specialized climbing vehicles produced 6,000 pounds of downforce at 150 miles per hour. The ridiculous pedigree of the Ford Transit SuperVan goes without question. Last year, the boxy beast won the Goodwood Hill Climb and then outpaced every supercar that ever graced the Top Gear test track. The Mustang Mach-E stock car has a lot to live up to.