Ford’s Mach-E Electric NASCAR Prototype Is Proof That Ford Should Build A Mach-E Coupe

Jason is out at Ford’s event in Charlotte, and it wouldn’t be a performance-oriented event in Charlotte if there wasn’t a little NASCAR sprinkled in there somewhere. Well, other than Frankie Muniz giving people rides. It’s a great example of what life is like in 2025 when Ford is showing both a 1,000-horsepower Megazilla crate motor and a NASCAR-flavored Mach-E.

According to the company, this is a 100% electric race car based on the ABB-developed NASCAR platform. The series already has cars (Cup, Xfinity) and trucks (Truck Series) handled. What’s next? Crossovers! And not just any crossovers, but electric ones.

The demonstrator uses Cup Series parts in the car’s suspension, brakes, steering, and even the wheels. The rest could be from Ford’s bin of crazy high-performance EV stuff used in vehicles like the bonkers 1,400 horsepower SuperVan 4.2. Or, perhaps, it’s just what’s already in ABB’s demonstrator. A clue to that might be the fact that the driver in the photo Ford released is David Ragan, the former driver who also drove the non-Ford version of this in Chicago:

Also, he’s a test driver for Ford, so that also makes sense.

Will it be racing this year? Probably not. As of now, there’s no work I know of being done to field a fleet of these in a series. It’s more likely that this demonstrator will be used at events and to set some speed records as NASCAR’s COO Steve O’Donnell alluded to recently in an interview with Sports Business Journal:

“I wouldn’t say it’s definitely on the table but the engines and engine architecture is certainly a big topic for us with our existing (OEMs) and potential (OEMs) coming into the sport and that would mostly revolve around some type of hybrid model.”

Hybrids are being used in IMSA, which is owned by NASCAR, so I imagine a hybrid makes a lot of sense. Also, Toyota and Ford make a lot of hybrids. As many of you know, I’m a big NASCAR fan and I try to go to at least one race a year (the last three years I’ve done Watkins Glen, Dover, and the Chicago Street Race). A lot of the appeal is the noise and the IMSA hybrids do a great job of bringing drama.

Here’s the Cadillac GTP at Daytona:

What’s Ford saying about this? The press release is literally just this:

New Mustang-Mach E Demonstrator is a NASCAR Prototype

Introducing the Mustang Mach-E NASCAR prototype!

This 100% electric racer is the latest demonstrator to join the Ford Performance family following SuperTruck, SuperVan 4.2, Super Cobra Jet 1800 and others. The new Mach-E demonstrator features components from the current Cup Series car including suspension, brakes, steering and wheels. It also features three motors, a full carbon fiber tub, and a 78 kWh battery.

Hey, it exists! Look at this thing. It’s possible there are a bunch of these prototypes and we’ll see a Blazer and a BZ4X soon. Or maybe this is it.

Either way, I’m specifically interested in the fact that this is a coupe. It makes sense. There are no four-door NASCAR vehicles. All the trucks are single-cab. All the Xfinity and Cup Series cars are coupes. You get the Camaro (or, this year, just the Chevy, I guess, since the car was discontinued?). The Mustang. The Supra. And a Camary coupe, even if it doesn’t exist in real life.

The Mustang Mach-E is only available as a five-door crossover. This, though, is definitely a coupe:

I kind of love this as a coupe, actually.

Can Ford just make a stripper Mach-E that’s $8,000 cheaper and is just a Mach-E Coupe?

Let’s do that Ford! A fun little stop-gap while we wait for the new Skunkworks car.