Rumor Mill: Is Ford Planning a Mach-E Shelby?
Shelby has been synonymous with the Mustang since Ford started manufacturing the GT350 in 1965 — cementing the model’s role as a certified performance machine. While Shelby Mustangs haven’t been available every year, Ford has lately been careful to include them in the lineup (if you haven’t noticed, there’s a horsepower war raging between domestic manufacturers, and the 760-hp Shelby GT500 is one of the main combatants).
But what happens as automakers transition into electrification? With a greener mindset spurring the change, these companies don’t seriously intend on delivering unnecessary high-performance models — do they?
You bet your ass they are. We’re already seeing them entering production, and Ford is now tentatively planning a Shelby variant of its all-electric Mach-E. Given its transition from “Mustang inspired” to “part of the Mustang family,” it’s now fair game.
This is all still very early talk, but engineers reportedly told evo that the company has already decided to start making moves on a Mustang Mach-E Shelby.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of applying the Shelby characteristics to an electric car,” explained Ford Performance engineer Ed Krenz. “The trick for us is the fun-to-drive part, and sustainability in terms of charging. It needs to be capable to go all day on a trackday — you can’t do 20 minutes and then have to charge it all night.”
Considering Ford targets 0-60 mph blasts in the sub-4-second range for the Mach-E’s GT variant, any hypothetical Shelby version would have to be an absolute beast for the automaker not to totally embarrass itself. The GT500 lives on the border of Crazy Town with it’s 760 horsepower, so the Mach-X Cobra-E-Jet had better, too.
All that power is bound to drain the battery swiftly but, with models like the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S already proving it’s possible to sell ultra-fast electrics, it doesn’t seem out of the question for the Blue Oval to try and do the same. It may not make perfect sense for a brand like Ford, but it’s already playing fast and loose with its industrial heritage. Might as well go all the way.
[Image: Ford Motor Co.]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Suggested tagline: "Quicker than some pickup trucks."
Shelby is going to supercharge the battery.