Vaughn Gittin Jr’s Mach-E 1400

It doesn’t matter what kind of car enthusiast you are, you started with the combustion engine. The sound of the small controlled explosions in quick succession makes your heart beat fast. And our love for turning gasoline into wheel power was something that united us all.

That is until electric engines started making their way into the auto scene. It seems like the sounds of a high horsepower gasoline engine may be going the way of the dinosaurs in the future – whether we like it or not. Companies like Tesla have been making very quick cars using electric motors and the larger automotive manufacturers are looking to catch up.

Ford’s answer: the Mach E.

Red Mustang Mach EPhoto Credit: Ford.com

I think I just heard a collective groan out of Mustang fans everywhere. The Mustang Mach E is a beautiful electric crossover utility vehicle recently announced by Ford. Whether or not it deserves the Mustang moniker is a whole other story; one that we won’t touch on today.

No doubt, Ford wants to capitalize on the Mustang name to build some hype on its entrance into the market with a fully electric vehicle. And it definitely has some impressive numbers that will put some modern muscle cars to shame. And I think Ford definitely expected some criticism and resistance from Mustang fans regarding the Mach E. They needed a way to prove this is indeed a cool car.

Black and white Mach E 1400 driftingThe Mach E 1400 Drifting
Photo Credit: Ford.com

Enter the Mach E 1400.

The Mach E 1400 was developed by Vaughn Gittin Jr’s team at RTR partnered with Ford Performance Motorsports. Ford gave Vaughn and his crew a Mach E unibody and told them to play. Oh, and play they did. The 1400 is referring to the 1400 horsepower being turned out by the 7 independently controlled electric motors.

It doesn’t scream the way a 1400 horsepower combustion engine does, but it certainly does scream. It sounds like a beautiful balance of straight-cut gears and something that I can only describe as extreme supercharger whine.

Side view of the Mach E 1400 aero partsThe Mach E 1400 Aero
Photo Credit: Ford.com

At first glance, it looks like a Civic Type R on the ‘roids until you realize that every canard, vent, and scoop is actually functional; some for cooling and some for aerodynamics. After all, when you’re playing with 1400 horsepower and 2000 foot pounds of torque, you’re going to need some downforce. Approximately 2600 pounds of it at speed.

You might be asking yourself “But what is this thing built for?!”. Well, I’m not sure the designers had an answer for that so they built it for everything; drifting, road race, and time attack. In order to accommodate the wide variety of activities, they have designed the transmission-less power train to be configured for all-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and front-wheel drive with very quick mechanical adjustments.

The Mach E 1400 interiorThe Mach E 1400 Interior
Photo Credit: Ford.com

Most of the body panels have been replaced with carbon fiber replicas. The canards and rear wing are also carbon. Even the interior dash is a carbon fiber replica of the production dash.

Now, you wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t a Mustang fan. And yes, Ford calling this new production CUV a Mustang is a bit of a slap-in-the-face for fanatics. However, let’s pretend for a second that this thing was not yet named.

This is Ford’s attempt at testing the waters for an all-electric sports car. It really does have some impressive numbers. It is definitely going to rock the boat in terms of affordable performance; let alone in the electric world. Instant torque and low maintenance are two very big things for any auto enthusiast which electric cars deliver in spades.

Front view of the Mach E 1400The Mach E 1400
Photo Credit: Ford.com

I think that we have something to be excited about. And the Mach E 1400 is here to show us that this car is more than just the name affixed to it. This might be the car our kids have posted to their bedroom walls as they grow up.

Check out this feature video of the Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400.