The Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally intends to inject some character and joy into a platform which up to now has felt rather corporate and soulless. Will it work?
If you ask most car enthusiasts about the Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV, you’re unlikely to hear much positivity. It’s hard to consider it as anything other than a cash-grab, utilizing (and some might argue muddying) a key heritage model’s name and reputation. After all, it’s a product which couldn’t be further removed from its namesake. Well, that’s the critical stance, anyway. On a more optimistic note, you could argue that it’s a harmless – even, welcome – extension of the Mustang family. Now people can enjoy their regular ‘real’ Mustang on the weekend, and then continue that brand allegiance on a weekday with a ‘Mustang’ that’ll do the school run with ease.
Regardless, whatever you think about the Mach-E, it’s clear that Ford felt the need to enhance its sporting image to add credibility to that Mustang badge. First, we saw the 1400hp gymkhana show car, but now there’s something a little more tangible for us regular folks. And this is it – the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally.
Visual Mods
The first thing to note is naturally the Mach-E Rally’s fresh new look. As you’d expect, it bears a more aggressive skin than the regular grocery-getter version, including additions such as a Focus RS-inspired rear wing and bespoke front splitter. The front fascia also now contains rally-inspired fog lights, positioned within the black ‘grille’. Meanwhile, a pair of tow hooks set within the front bumper suggest its ready to get into some sticky off-roading situations.
As well as this vibrant yellow, you can also spec your Mustang Mach-E Rally in blue, green, or black. White and grey costs extra. Inside, the cabin space looks familiar to that of a regular Mach-E, albeit with the addition of white accents, stitching, and seatbacks.
Handling Mods
The Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally sits 20mm higher than normal, utilizing a suspension setup that features off-road tuned springs, MagneRide shocks, while the brakes are supplied by Brembo. Those 385mm discs sit within white rally-style rims, cloaked in 235/55 R19 Michelin CrossClimate2 tires. These have a larger side wall and are better honed for loose surface grip compared to a regular street tire.
On top of that, the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally has a new diving mode, aptly named RallySport Drive Mode. Essentially, this tells the car’s onboard computer to allow bigger slides, as well as sharpening up the damping and offering a more linear throttle response.
Powertrain Mods
So, we’ve established that the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally looks the part, and it has the chassis to be able to deal with genuine off-road trails (albeit perhaps more of the loose rally stage sort, rather than anything hardcore). Having a bitmore power to play with would therefore be the cherry on top. Happily, Ford hasn’t ignored this area of the car either.
Its dual-motor powertrain features a 91kWh lithium ion battery, which helps the Mach-E rally to output 649lb ft of torque and 480 horsepower. For context, that’s roughly the same amount of power you’d get from a Mach-E GT Performance Edition, with an additional 15lb ft of torque on top. So, it hasn’t completely re-written the Mach-E rulebook, but it should still result in more than enough power to play with on the dirt.
So, could this be the first Ford Mustang Mach-E variant that actually appeals to diehard car enthusiasts? We think it might be…
The Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally goes on sale at the start of 2024. Pricing unconfirmed.
