DETROIT: Ford Team Edison, which is responsible for the Blue Oval's new electric vehicle development, has finally issued a teaser of the Mach 1 performance electric crossover. I
t doesn't show a great deal of what to expect from the company's first electric SUV, but it's a lot more than we've been getting so far as pretty much all we've had to date is a logo and a prototype wearing a Ford Escape body.
It's now around eight months since Ford announced it was working on the 2020 Mach 1 which was to be the company's first all-electric SUV, and not a lot more has been said of it since. The whole project seems to have been shrouded in mystery, and that's not really the way manufacturers do things anymore.
In fact, even the name was in doubt after there was something of a backlash in some parts at the thought of Mach 1 being appropriated for an SUV, and an electric one at that.
The rendering obviously shows the rear of the vehicle, and it's clear to see the Mustang is inspiring more than just the name of this radical new departure for Ford.
Those familiar three-bar taillights are definitely there, sitting inside a round panel stretching across the full width of the rear end. The roofline certainly has a hint of fastback about it, but it's difficult to gauge how sloping or upright it is without some way of judging depth.
Originally, the plan was to launch a practical electric SUV in 2020 that would stand out as something unique in the market. Ford has now decided to change tack completely though, and is instead concentrating on producing an overtly performance-focused model.
Ford hasn't said anything about the kind of performance it's actually aiming for with the Mach 1, but it would have to be something out of the ordinary to rival some of the electric SUVs a number of rivals have in the pipeline such as the Faraday Future FF91.
We do know the Ford will use lithium-ion battery technology and that the vehicle will be built in Mexico rather than in the US.
After Ford recently announced the doubling of its electric vehicle development budget to US$11 billion, the Mach 1 will be one of 16 fully electric models out of a total of 40 electrified models it will have in production by the year 2022.
sc/cm - Relaxnews
