Mustang Mach-Eau… a whiff of petrol for the EV interested

July 21, 2021July 23, 2021 Stephen Corby 2232 Views

People are strange and, inarguably, Americans are even stranger, but the news that a lot of them want to smell like a wild horse doused in petrol still comes as a surprise.

Ford, which is desperately trying to get octane-obsessed Americans interested in EVs, and its Mustang Mach-E GT in particular (at least Ford is now selling more electric Mustangs than V8 ones), conducted some research that found one five drivers believe “the smell of petrol” is what they’d miss most if they had to swap to an electric vehicle.

Do they mean that slightly unpleasant odour you get at service stations, do you think, or are they driving such battered old bangers that slightly dangerous petrol fumes are leaching into the cabin while they drive? And honestly, who loves the smell of petrol that much (okay, I’ll admit, I have a fondness for the smell of racing fuel that you get at F1 and Supercar events, but that’s different, I’d say even almost normal)?

Desperate to keep these desperados happy, Ford has “created a premium fragrance for those who crave the performance of the new all-electric Mustang Mach-E GT yet still hold a fondness for the evocative smells of traditional petrol cars”. It’s called Mach-Eau – which sounds like the noise you make in a bathroom after eating a Big Mac – and it sounds awful, combining “smoky accords, aspects of rubber and even an ‘animal’ element to give a nod to the Mustang heritage”, all with a strong whiff of petrol over the top.

Ford used leading fragrance experts to create the new Mach-Eau fragrance for people who "crave the performance of the new all-electric Mustang Mach-E GT yet still hold a fondness for the evocative smells of traditional petrol cars" — Ford used leading fragrance experts to create the new Mach-Eau fragrance for people who “crave the performance of the new all-electric Mustang Mach-E GT yet still hold a fondness for the evocative smells of traditional petrol cars”

This new scent is designed to usher people into an EV future via their sense of smell. Apparently Ford’s research revealed that petrol, at least for its customers, ranked as a more popular scent than wine or cheese (American prefer their cheese in a can and think wine is for sissies), and was almost as popular as the smell of new books. Ford revealed its Mach-Eau fragrance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed – where electric supercars played a major role – and the good/bad news is that it’s not available to buy, or not yet.

It’s just part of Ford’s “ongoing mission to help dispel myths around electric cars and convince traditional car enthusiasts of the potential of electric vehicles”.

Sure, I can see how making the world’s worst perfume would help with that.

Stephen Corby

Stephen is a former editor of both Wheels and Top Gear Australia magazines and has been writing about cars since Henry Ford was a boy. Initially an EV sceptic, he has performed a 180-degree handbrake turn and is now a keen advocate for electrification and may even buy a Porsche Taycan one day, if he wins the lottery. Twice.