7 motors, 1044kW: Ford’s wild electric Mustang drift machine

Ford has shown how wild electric motoring can be when petrolheads are allowed to play with electricity.

The one-off Mustang Mach-E 1400 uses seven electric motors and a special 56.8kWh battery system with coolant to allow it to be cooled following fast discharges.

It produces 1400 horsepower, or 1044kW of power.

Developed in conjunction with RTR Vehicles – an aftermarket performance outfit that has created wild machines for YouTube star and rally driver Ken Block – the Mustang Mach-E 1400 is based on the upcoming Mustang Mach-E production SUV.

However, it uses a total of seven electric motors, more than any other EV. There are three motors to power the front wheels and four on the rear.

The motors are stacked like pancakes to combine their outputs and turn the one driveshaft at either end.

“The challenge was controlling the extreme levels of power provided by the seven motors” said Mark Rushbrook, motorsports director at Ford Performance.

“Mustang Mach-E 1400 is a showcase of the art of the possible with an electric vehicle.”

The lithium-ion batteries feature nickel manganese cobalt pouches for “ultra-high performance and high discharge rate”.

More impressive than the layout is the software controlling the crazy EV setup.

All of the drive can be sent to either to the front or rear wheels, or all four, depending on what stunts the driver is going for.

There is also a rally-style hydraulic handbrake that operates on the rear wheels. The handbrake automatically temporarily cuts power to the four rear motors to allow the wheels to lock for those wild slides.

Even with all of that there’s an electronic brake booster for regenerative braking, ensuring some of the energy not wasted on wheelspin is diverted back to the batteries.

Still, don’t expect the driving range to be too good…

Wild wings and fins help pin the car to the road through an advanced motorsport-inspired aerodynamics setup that also provides all-important cooling to the electrical components.

The Mutang Mach-E 1400 is designed to create more than one tonne of downforces at 160mph (257km/h).

The Mustang Mach-E 1400 was developed to showcase how far electric motoring could be pushed – and, no doubt, prove to enthusiasts that there is an exciting side to EVs.

There’s also a serious side to it, with Ford saying the car serves as a “test bed for new materials”.

Despite the weight of the batteries and motors, the Mach-E 1400 is made mostly of carbon fibre to keep the kilos down. The bonnet is made of “organic composite fibres” said to be a lightweight alternative to carbon fibre.

All of which adds up to loads of fun.

“Getting behind the wheel of this car has completely changed my perspective on what power and torque can be,” said Vaughn Gittin Jr., RTR Vehicles founder, a man who has driven some crazy cars, including the ‘Hoonigan’ Mustang, complete with exposed turbochargers.

“This experience is like nothing you’ve ever imagined, except for maybe a magnetic roller coaster.”

Ford is also hoping to learn from the engineering challenges of creating so much power from electric motors.

“Now is the perfect time to leverage electric technology, learn from it, and apply it to our lineup,” said Ron Heiser, chief program engineer for the Mustang Mach-E.

“Mustang Mach-E is going to be fun to drive, just like every other Mustang before it, but Mustang Mach-E 1400 is completely insane, thanks to the efforts of Ford Performance and RTR.”

Of course, the biggest thing with the Mustang Mach-E 1400 is to publicise the upcoming Mustang Mach-E electric SUV production car that is designed to take the fight to Tesla.

While the Mach-E road car borrows the Mustang name, it has little to do with the V8-powered two-door muscle car, instead borrowing some styling cues and the famous badge.

But it as important vehicle in Ford’s transition to electrification, leveraging a long-running iconic nameplate on a car that represents the future.