Electric powered cars have come a long way in a relatively short period of time and along with it the blistering performance they are able to deliver. To prove the point, Ford Performance have just introduced a one-off Mustang Cobra Jet factory racer that is 100 percent electric and capable of completing the quarter mile in the low 8-second range and will hit a staggering 170 mph!
Delivering around 1,400 horsepower and over 1,100 ft.-lbs. of instant torque, the battery-powered Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype has been purpose-built to demonstrate the capabilities of an electric powertrain in one of the most demanding race environments.
Ford Performance has teamed up with several capable and specialised suppliers to help with the development of the Cobra Jet 1400 project. This includes vehicle builder, designer, integrator and tuner MLe Racecars, roll cage builder Watson Engineering who are also specialists in chassis support and development, AEM EV for software and motor calibration and controls and Inverter and Motor supplier Cascadia.
“Ford has always used motorsport to demonstrate innovation,” said Dave Pericak, Global Director of Ford Icons, and who is currently overseeing all of Ford’s iconic nameplates such as the Mustang and Bronco. “Electric powertrains give us a completely new kind of performance and the all-electric Cobra Jet 1400 is one example of pushing new technology to the absolute limit. We’re excited to showcase what’s possible in an exciting year when we also have the all-electric Mustang Mach-E joining the Mustang family.”
Following the recent launch of Ford’s first-ever all-electric Mustang, the Mach-E SUV, the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype gives Ford the opportunity to test advanced technology for future vehicle powertrains.
Mark Rushbrook, who is Global Director for Ford Performance Motorsports, said “This project was a challenge for all of us at Ford Performance, but a challenge we loved jumping into. We saw the Cobra Jet 1400 project as an opportunity to start developing electric powertrains in a race car package that we already had a lot of experience with, so we had performance benchmarks we wanted to match and beat right now. This has been a fantastic project to work on, and we hope the first of many coming from our team at Ford Performance Motorsports.”
Testing of the Cobra Jet 1400 continues, as Ford prepare for the car’s official world debut later this year at a drag racing event, where the public will get the chance to see the car in the flesh so to speak. However, if you can’t wait until then, you can get a sneak preview this coming Sunday April 26th on the new streaming service MotorTrend, in their new show HARD CELL, presented by Tom ‘Wookie’ Ford, who we interviewed earlier this month, and is featuring and driving new electric vehicles that are pushing the innovation boundaries.
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is Editor of Our Man Behind The Wheel, a professional photographer and former saloon car racing driver.
Photographs courtesy of Ford UK
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