The future is electric. And while gasoline-powered performance engines can still outpace electric engines in terms of top speeds, electric powertrains are capable of generating enormous amounts of torque. Translation: acceleration.
Take the All-Electric Mustang Cobra Jet 1400, Ford’s first fully electric dragster prototype – a vehicle projected to cover the quarter-mile at just over eight seconds at a top speed of 170 miles per hour.
The vehicle is a product of Ford Performance – the wing of the Detroit auto giant responsible for creating high-performance automobiles for motorsports and the racing world. The Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 is a throw-back to the Mustang Cobra Jet, the car that tore up drag strips from one end of the country to another in the 1960s.
“Electric powertrains give us a completely new kind of performance, and the all-electric Cobra Jet 1400 is one example of pushing new technology to the absolute limit. We’re excited to showcase what’s possible in an exciting year when we also have the all-electric Mustang Mach-E joining the Mustang family,” said Dave Pericak, Global Director, Ford Icons, in a press release dropped by the Ford Media Team in April of 2020.
In the same press release, Mark Rushbrook, the Global Director of Ford Performance Motorsports said, “ “We saw the Cobra Jet 1400 project as an opportunity to start developing electric powertrains in a race car package that we already had a lot of experience with, so we had performance benchmarks we wanted to match and beat right now.”
It seems like the team achieved its goals. Consider this – the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 is projected to deliver over 1,400 horsepower and 1,100 foot-pounds of instant torque. That’s a bold way to demonstrate the capabilities of an electric powertrain.
Ford Performance Motorsports teamed up with MLe Racecars, Watson Engineering, AEM EV, and Cascadia to complete the project, which will hit the track for the first time later this year at various drag racing events.
It’s an exciting time to be an eco-conscious Ford-fan. Rumors of an electric F-150 abound. It seems obvious that Ford’s electric lineup will only continue to grow – both in breadth and in power!
