Ford Shows Off Zero Emissions Mustang Drag Racer

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 273 km/h. For the first time ever, Ford Performance introduces a one-off Mustang Cobra Jet factory drag racer with all-electric propulsion.

The battery-powered Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype is purpose-built and projected to deliver over 1,400 horsepower and over 1,491 Nm of instant torque to demonstrate the capabilities of an electric powertrain in one of the most demanding race environments.

Following the debut of the all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV, the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype represents another opportunity to advance its performance while simultaneously incorporating some of the 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.

Ford Performance continues to test Cobra Jet 1400 ahead of its world debut later this year at a drag racing event where fans, 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.

On Its 56th Birthday, the Ford Mustang Celebrates Two Global Sales Crowns

On its nameplate’s 56th birthday, Ford is celebrating two global sales crowns—the world’s best-selling sportscar and its fifth straight best-selling sports coupe title. This is on top of being America’s best-selling sportscar of the last 50 years.

“We’re proud of our growing Mustang stable and performance variants,” said Jim Farley, chief operating officer, Ford Motor Company. “From Sweden to Shanghai, more and more driving enthusiasts are enjoying the feeling of freedom and the American open road in these new Mustangs. We are honored to serve our owners, enthusiasts and fans for 56 years and counting.”

The Ford Mustang sold 102,090 units, according to the most recent new vehicle registration data from IHS Markit, making it the best-selling sports car in the world in 2019. During this period, Mustang sales in Germany increased 33 percent, in Poland sales rose by nearly 50 percent, and in France, they nearly doubled.

Last year also marks the fifth consecutive year that Mustang was the best-selling sports coupe in the world. Sports coupes, as defined by IHS Markit, include two-door and convertible models. IHS Markit global vehicle registrations are compiled from government and other sources, and capture 95 percent of global new vehicle volumes in more than 80 countries.

The Mustang was first introduced to the world on April 17, 1964 at the New York World’s Fair. Since then, it’s been in continuous production with six generations, the most recent one of which was introduced in 2015 (refreshed in 2018).

This Famous Shelby GT350R May Fetch More Than P 153 Million

For those who watched Ford v Ferrari, they’ll remember that Christian Bale played racer Ken Miles. Well, Shelby and Mustang enthusiasts will now get a chance to own a piece of history as a real Mustang driven by Ken Miles will be up for auction this May.

The white with blue stripes 1965 Shelby GT350R Competition Model packs a 4.73-liter V8 making 306 horsepower. But more than just a classic muscle car, this particular Mustang is known as the “Flying Mustang,” because of a memorable photo showing it with all four tires off the ground. It’s this exact car, driven by Miles, that won at the Green Valley Raceway in February 1965 that’s going under the hammer.

The first competition Shelby Mustang, the first to be raced, and the first to win, this Shelby GT350R is known as the 5R002. It simultaneously served as Shelby American’s factory engineering mule, a rolling test bed for ideas and components, including those that would constitute both the second team car (5R001) and all 34 customer R-models that followed.

This makes the 5R002 historically significant, and even more so because it’s intertwined not just with the Shelby name, but also because of Ken Miles—revered as one of the greatest figures in motorsports, and one who tragically died at the height of his career.

The GT350R Competition model will go on auction in where it’s expected to fetch more than USD 3 million (~ P 153.2 million).

Now We Know Why Nadine Lustre Didn't Answer Xian Gaza's "Mustang Bouquet"

Dear Xian, you know why Nadine Lustre didn’t answer your “Mustang bouquet”? It’s because you were trying to give her the WRONG Mustang. But hey, we understand your confusion; we’re so confused as well.

Anyway, in a Ford-commissioned survey of 3,000 respondents from Europe, US, and China, 8 out 10 are down for an “electric-powered date night” (whatever that means), with 3 in 4 saying they’d actually prefer to date an EV owner. In short, you should have gotten her a “Mustang Mach-E bouquet.”

This goes out to all you bros out there, too. If you’re not scoring tonight, it’s because you are not in an EV. Yeah, apparently, chicks don’t like fancy sports car and whatever; they dig the strong and silent type, the one who secretly cares for the environment, and stuff.

Anyway, Ford goes on.

They say that their first-ever EV, the Mustang Mach-E can also help you “celebrate with a new squeeze, revisite an old flame, or do the anti-holiday night out with the gals (or guys).” So imagine Xian, Nadine, and Erich all in the same car. Hmmmm...catty. But hey, at least you can serve them near-bottomless chicken wings.

And, if you’re un-gentlemanly enough to have nothing planned on V-Day, don’t worry. The Mustang Mach-E also comes with Ford’s first-ever cloud-connected communications system, SYNC 4A. With that, you can simply leave it to Yelp to choose where you should be eating.

Ford Just Found a Contrived Use for the Mustang Mach-E's "Frunk"

Just look at their stupid faces; ah the grin of success. Seems these millennials have found a new use for the unfortunately-named Ford Mustang Mach-E by transforming that front trunk (frunk) into a makeshift Tupperware.

While we have to admit it’s a great way to show off the possibilities of that 136-liter plastic frunk, we can’t help but think it’s all too contrived. I mean, think of how unhygienic all this sounds.

Sure, there’s a drain plug right at the bottom but who, in the right frame of mind will stuff it with shaved ice and chilled shrimp? What is this? The Good Place. If you’re not Eleanor Shellstrop, Ford says you can also fill it up with up to 1,000 chicken wings. What the fuck.

Anyway, Ford does point out that the Mustang Mach-E’s frunk has a drain plug at the bottom so liquids (even ranch dressing) will just drip down when it’s time for a wash (please, do so—don’t be mixing your gym clothes with tabasco because that’s just nasty). But hey, at least it makes for a good makeshift drink cooler. Don’t expect it to do wonders to your car’s weight distribution, though.

Anyway, Ford believes that you, like these smiling millennials will be “life of the frunk-ty,” if you happen to show off that frunk by stuffing it with chicken wings. Who knows, you can even play a game of long-distance cornhole.

Ford Made a Mistake In Calling Their EV a Mustang

Mustang (noun) meaning a free-roaming horse found in the Western United States. It’s also the first “pony car,” an affordable sports coupe with a long hood and short deck first launched by Ford in 1964. It is the only nameplate in the Blue Oval’s stable to remain in uninterrupted production over five decades or development and revision. This year, Ford management to throw all that legacy away by launching a model that’s the anthesis of everything the Mustang stands for. The biggest crime is that they actually call it a Mustang.

Ford will try their best to convince you that their all-new, all-electric SUV is a Mustang. They used phrases such as, “born of the same all-American ideals that inspired the best-selling sports coupe in the world” and “it represents the best of the American spirit: freedom, progress, fast performance, and a touch of rebellion.” But even a five-year old knows better.

By and large, this all-electric SUV, the Mustang Mach-E isn’t the product of rebellious thinking. It isn’t the product of American freedom and progress. If anything, it’s a sign of Ford trying to play catch up as the rest of the world looks at electrification technology to power future cars. And sadly, there’re willing to sacrifice the storied Mustang brand for short-term gains in the process.

Ford says its new SUV has “a sleek silhouette and muscular curves,” but there’s no way you can mistake it for a Mustang. With up to 459 horsepower and 830 Nm of torque, it promises “0-100 km/h times quicker than a Porsche 911 GTS,” but you cannot mistake it for a Mustang. It has the “long hood, rear launch, aggressive headlights, and tri-bar taillights,” but it certainly doesn’t look like a Mustang. What it is, is an SUV that seats five and cargo. It’s an all-electric, all-wheel drive SUV that offers up to 482 kilometers or range. Clearly, there’s nothing Mustang about that.

Ford could and should have named their new all-electric SUV something else—anything else but a Mustang. A hybrid two-door sports coupe would have raised eyebrows, but would have been more acceptable; a hybrid two-door all-wheel drive sports coupe would have been pushing it, but again, it would have been acceptable. Without knowing what Ford’s marketing team is thinking, on the surface, naming it the Mustang Mach-E is a case of wanting to cash in its brand recall. Perhaps, it was done to avoid the pitfalls of the Chevy Volt which failed miserably.

What Ford’s done here is straight from the Star Wars or Marvel playbook—where a big chunk of marketing is hinged on the strength of the brand, and how it connects positively with people. It’s why these franchise movies work—they play to a certain tempo, and fit in a certain mold. Unfortunately for Ford, it’s quite the opposite. They may be using a well-revered, well-respected brand, but it’s playing to a tune that’s not just unfamiliar, but stands against everything that brand stands for.

Largest Ford Mustang Gathering Happened in...Belgium?!

Examples from every generation of Mustang since the iconic sports car’s launch in 1964 converged on Ford’s Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium setting a new world record for the largest number of Mustangs in a parade.

Ford smashed its own record of 960 vehicles, set in Toluca, Mexico on December 3, 2017, with 1,326 Mustangs from all over Europe making the pilgrimage to the Ford testing facility in Belgium. To set the new record, the Mustangs were driven in an uninterrupted convoy with no more than 20 meters between each car. Vehicles and drivers also participated in a special choreography to celebrate Mustang’s 55th anniversary this year.

More Mustangs are sold in Belgium per head than any other country in Europe, making Ford’s Lommel Proving Ground the ideal location for the world record attempt. The Mustang was the world’s best-selling sports coupe for the fourth year in a row in 2018.