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EV OMG: Ford debuts electric NASCAR, Mach-E racer to conquer Pikes Peak
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 4, 2025
Charlotte, North Carolina — Ford Motor Co. is dialing back its production electric vehicle plans by canceling a battery-powered three-row SUV, pushing back a new EV pickup until 2027, and pruning back Lightning EV production.
But it is full speed ahead on electric race cars.
Ford Performance, the company’s competition division, rolled out its first prototype electric NASCAR and electric Mach-E Pikes Peak hill-climb racer Thursday at its second Annual Season racing launch in Charlotte.
As the company invests in an electric future, Ford Performance has played a big role by pushing the envelope of battery performance with vehicles like the winged, seven-motor, 1,400-horsepower Mustang Mach-E 1400 and the 1,600-horsepower F-150 Lightning SuperTruck that dominated Pikes Peak last year.
Ford’s electric performance push dovetails with NASCAR, which is looking to move beyond fossil fuels and produce net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2035. That aggressive initiative includes powering its racetracks with 100% renewable (wind, solar or hydro) energy, developing a plant-based racing fuel, and installing EV charging stations.
Most prominently, NASCAR debuted its first electric race car at its Chicago Street race last year. The Mustang Mach-E NASCAR prototype follows in its footsteps.
The prototype is based on the brand’s first electric SUV, the Mach-E, and shares components from the current gas-powered NASCAR Cup Series race car including suspension, brakes, steering and wheels.
But under the skin it’s propelled — not by a ferocious, 5.8-liter, 670-horsepower V-8 engine — but by three electric motors and a 78 kWh battery.
In a sport built on the visceral thrill of 40 NASCARs thundering around high-banked ovals at the drop of a green flag, the quiet hum of electric motors may seem heresy to most fans.
But with a new generation of fans raised on Tesla Inc.’s success, NASCAR’s head of sustainability, Riley Nelson, wants the sport to represent EVs as cool, fun and accessible.
“(The NASCAR EV prototype) is just the next iteration of showcasing different types of technologies to our fans,” she said alongside the NASCAR prototype at Climate Week NYC last year. “We’re not saying one is better than the other. We’re just saying it’s an option that could be worth exploring.”
The Mach-E NASCAR is closely related to the NASCAR EV that was codeveloped with Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota — NASCAR’s three manufacturing partners who are all pushing battery power in their production lineups. Chevy parent General Motors Co., for example, points to NASCAR market research that shows 50% of fans would be more interested in buying an EV if they were in a racing series.
“Fans want to have some connection or relationship to the racecar,” Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, told the Associated Press last year. “As more and more customers are buying all-electric vehicles, there will be, we believe, a growing number of people that want to watch full electric racing.”
Added NASCAR’s Nelson of its $1.5 million prototype: “If we can make a cool race car that still has the same visceral kind of emotional attachment to it when it goes around the track then maybe the consumer will think it is worth exploring for themselves,”
While Ford has yet to release details of the Mach-E NASCAR, it will likely share similar characteristics of the NASCAR EV that was demonstrated in Chicago. The EV accelerated twice as fast as gas-powered NASCARs but suffered in corners due to its extra battery weight.
In the thin air at the top of 14,115-foot Pikes Peak, EVs have already proved themselves superior to combustion engines.
Ford plans to return to America’s Mountain in 2025 after dominating the event last year with its F-150 Lightning SuperTruck — the same SuperTruck on display at January’s Detroit Auto Show.
It’ll attempt to beat the record runs of the Lighting V and SuperVan 4.2 with the Mustang Mach-E derived Electric Vehicle Demonstrator. Race driver Romain Dumas, who piloted the SuperTruck in 2024, will be behind the wheel again for the Mustang’s run.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.