Perhaps to convince us of the validity of the electric-powered Mustang Mach-E crossover vehicle, Ford Performance has unveiled the Cobra Jet 1400, the automaker’s “first factory fully electric dragster prototype.”
“It won’t hurt your ears and doesn’t use a drop of fuel, but it’s projected to crush the quarter-mile in the low-8-second range at more than 170 mph,” Ford Performance proclaimed in its announcement.
The news release reports that the battery-powered prototype is “projected to deliver over 1,400 horsepower and over 1,100 pound-feet of instant torque to demonstrate the capabilities of an electric powertrain in one of the most demanding race environments.”
Adds Dave Pericak, global director of Ford Icons, “Ford has always used motorsport to demonstrate innovation. 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.”
Ford Performance notes that “following the debut of the all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV – the first-ever, all-electric Mustang, the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype represents another opportunity to advance Mustang heritage and performance while simultaneously incorporating some of the most advanced technology coming to Ford’s future powertrains.
“Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 also honors the original Cobra Jet that first dominated drag strips in the late 1960s and still is a major force in sportsman drag racing today.”
“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,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports.
Key suppliers working on the project with Ford Performance include MLe Racecars, Watson Engineering, AEMEV and Cascadia.
The Cobra Jet 1400 prototype is undergoing testing, Ford Performance said, as it awaits its official debut later this year at a drag racing event “where media and competitors alike will get to meet the race car, as well as see exactly what it’s capable of up on the asphalt.”
Just something else I want two of…
They need to save themselves from the BS that is the “Mustang” (It is not a Mustang, will never be one, and should not hold the Mustang name) Mach-E.