Ford on Thursday unveiled a prototype Mustang Mach-E electric SUV outfitted for NASCAR racing.
The prototype, revealed at a preview event for the automaker’s 2025 motorsports activities, is a Mach-E in name only and doesn’t have much in common with the Mach-E road car. It combines Mach-E style bodywork with a carbon-fiber tub chassis and components from a current NASCAR Cup Series race car, including suspension, brakes, steering, and wheels, Ford said in a brief statement.
Three motors provided an undisclosed amount of power for the Mach-E electric race car, with energy supplied by a 78-kwh battery pack. That’s in between the 72-kwh Standard Range pack and 91-kwh Extended Range pack currently offered in the Mach-E.
The Cup Series is the top rung of the NASCAR ladder, and it currently features purpose-built race cars powered by big thirsty V-8 engines, emitting loads of noise, gasoline fumes, and tailpipe emissions. Initial photos Ford released with the prototype show loads of tire smoke. NASCAR hasn’t even gone hybrid yet, and while hybrid race cars were announced years ago they’ve been delayed to 2027 at the earliest.
Ford Mustang Mach-E NASCAR Prototype
Ford Mustang Mach-E NASCAR Prototype
Ford Mustang Mach-E NASCAR Prototype
This configuration fits with NASCAR practice. NASCAR may stand for “National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing,” but there isn’t anything “stock” about the cars. They’re designed for the series’ rule set but styled to look like cars fans can buy.
The three-motor powertrain and 78-kwh battery pack match the top-level specs given for a generic electric SUV prototype NASCAR first showed in 2023. That prototype, which also featured sustainable bodywork made with flax, hinted at a path forward for making the series greener, in keeping with a carbon-emission reduction goal adopted in 2023. All current Cup Series manufacturers also sell electric SUVs—Ford has the Mach-E, Chevrolet has the Blazer EV, and Toyota has the bZ4X—so rebranding for each won’t be an issue.
NASCAR hasn’t given any indication of when it might adopt electric cars, although leaked documents hinting of plans for a standalone electric series began in 2022. For now, the NASCAR Mach-E joins a growing collection of Ford electric prototypes, including the seven-motor Mach-E 1400, showing that electric vehicles can be fast and fun.
