2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally Is The Real Deal: Power, Price & When The Fun Begins
Ford promised something new for its EVs with the Mustang Mach-E Rally, and now the automaker is ready to spill details on what makes its off-road-ready electric SUV special. Previewed back in July — complete with a fetching camouflage wrap — the newest iteration of the electric Mustang won't just be the first designed to head off the asphalt but also pack the most torque we've seen from the line-up.
Ford has confirmed the 2024 Mustang Mach-E Rally is targeting "at least" 480 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque from a modified version of the Mach-E GT powertrain. The Mach-E GT Performance, in contrast, is tuned for 480 hp and 634 lb-ft. The result, Ford says, should be a 0-60 mph time faster than the 3.5 seconds of the GT Performance.
Ford
Though the GT Performance is designed to excel on the road (or track), the Mustang Mach-E Rally pushes on beyond paved surfaces. Equipped with 19-inch gloss white alloy wheels shod in 235/55 R19 Michelin CrossClimate2 tires and riding on MagneRide shocks with specially-tuned springs, the Rally version of the EV is also lifted 20mm over the standard car. Ford says it benchmarked against popular gas rivals like Subaru's WRX.
It's new territory for EVs
It's the result, Ford says, of a conscious effort to expand the automaker's electric cars into new areas. More specifically, Ford's Donna Dickson, chief engineer for Mustang Mach-E, reveals there were "really no competitors in this space."
Taking the Rally from concept to reality took less than 16 months, Dickson says, with Ford consulting rally cross drivers inside the company to help shape the EV and the simulated 500-mile durability test it put the newest Mustang Mach-E version through. Their input helped the Rally end up with features like underbody protective shielding for the front and rear motors, an aero spoiler, and a standard black-painted steel roof to help lower the center of gravity.
Ford
The Michelin tires were selected for their extra sidewall and better loose-surface grip, Dickson says, while red-painted Brembo calipers bite down onto 385mm front brake rotors. The front splitter is unique to the Rally, improving its approach angle, while a new fascia has integrated fog lamps. Beneath it, a recovery point is built-in for extracting the Mach-E Rally from over-ambitious off-road jaunts.
A new RallySport drive mode brings the magic
To tackle those jaunts properly, a new RallySport Drive Mode is accessed as a sub-setting in the existing Unbridled mode (which is Ford's equivalent of Sport in the EV). It will allow for things like added yaw — enabling bigger slides — and more aggressive damping. However, even on-road, it's likely to bring improvements in icy or snowy conditions.
BlueCruise 1.3 — Ford's hands-off driver assistance system — will be supported at launch, with all hardware pre-installed. As for range and charging, final numbers haven't been set, but Ford is targeting 250 miles of EPA range. A bump in DC fast charging speed should mean a 10-80% charge takes just over 36 minutes; that's about seven minutes faster than previous models.
Ford
Six colors will be on offer, three of which are new. That includes Grabber Blue, Shadow Black, Eruption Green, Grabber Yellow, Star White, and Glacier Gray. Two racing stripes are standard.
Aggressively pricing to go with aggressive styling
A protective film is fitted to the doors and fender arches as standard to keep that paintwork from being too torn up. Mud flaps are available as a dealer-installed option. Ford is also exploring both in-house and aftermarket accessories, figuring that Mustang Mach-E Rally owners will likely be keen on customizing their EVs.
"We definitely see a departure from the pavement and entry into the dirt road as one of those areas where EV will be expanding in the near term," Michael Sego, Group Marketing Manager for Mustang Mach-E, explains. To capitalize on that, the Mustang Mach-E Rally will neither be outlandishly expensive nor limited in number.
Ford
Ford expects the EV to be priced at around $65,000 (before any incentives; Ford expects it to qualify for the same $3,750 U.S. federal tax credit as the 2023 version) when it goes into production in early 2024. There'll be no limit to sales numbers, though the automaker expects the SUV to be more popular in cold-weather states. Sales will be in North America and Europe, though, with orders taken both at dealerships and online.
As for the rest of the 2024 Mustang Mach-E line-up, more details of the changes there will apparently be shared later in the year.