The Mustang Mach-E is a fantastic, sporty SUV. Now Ford has decided the time is right to make a Rally edition for mild off-road adventures and rally racing.
Regular edition All-Wheel-Drive Mach-Es are already pretty capable vehicles, including doing a little unofficial light-duty towing, but they’re just too low and too easily banged up to consider anything more off-road than maybe a gentle ride on the beach or a park trail intended to be accessible by most vehicles.
With the introduction of the Mach-E Rally, Ford is aiming straight at the heart of the rally off-road adventure market. But, don’t get the idea this is a Jeep Wrangler competitor.
This isn’t a rock crawler and rougher terrain isn’t its mission. Instead, it was developed for rallycross fans.
Rally Cross is a type of dirt racing where drivers power slide their way to victory on dirt or gravel tracks.
The Mach-E Rally is based on the GT edition of the Mach-E but adds a unique raised suspension that gives it an 0.8-inch lift with specialty tuned springs and MagneRide shocks.
This off-road all-electric Mustang trades the GT’s wheels and tries for 19-inch rally-style alloy wheels wearing Michelin Cross-Climate 2 tires that provide more sidewall and loose surface grip.
The underside gets protective shielding for the front and rear motors to help protect against the gravel drivers are likely to kick up. A protective film is added on the door cladding and fender arches to reduce potential paint chips.
For drivers traversing the great outdoors at night, rally-inspired fog lights are added to a front grille that’s unique to the Rally edition.
Inside, the Mach-E Rally has a special RallySport Drive Mode that adds yaw for bigger slides, better throttle response and more aggressive damping for better handling in loose corners.
Since the Rally edition is based on the GT and includes MagneRide shocks and Brembo bakes, it should also be a hoot out on the street. Ford says it will have at least 650 lb.-ft. of torque and 480 horsepower.
That’s even more torque than the Mustang Mach-E GT Performance, which has a Ford-rated 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds. So it sounds like the Rally might end up equaling or even surpassing the current top dog Mach-E’s acceleration.
For adventurers that do manage to get themselves in trouble, there’s also a recovery point built into the front end and an included hook, so your buddy with a Lightning can come get you out of any potential jam.
It also looks the boy-racer part with a rear spoiler that takes its inspiration from Ford’s former Focus RS.
Ford says the Mach-E Rally will start around $65,000.
While that might sound expensive; for a such a sporty, unique, EV it actually significantly undercuts what might be its closest competitor. The Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo with similar specs starts at just over $141,000 while the more light-duty off-road focused Taycan Cross Turismo starts at $101,900.
What do you think? Are there any other EV-powered competitors outside of the Porsche? Let me know in the YouTube comments.
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