Ford Performance develop electric Mustang drag car

The first factory Ford electric drag car, the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 is still in the prototype stage and no details on the electric motor or battery system have been released, but Ford Performance have projected the electric drag car will develop 1,400hp (1,044kW) and over 1,100ft/lb (1,491Nm).

With those numbers, Ford Performance predict the car will be capable of quarter mile times in the low 8-second bracket and a top speed in excess of 170mph (273km/h).

“Ford has always used motorsport to demonstrate innovation,” said Dave Pericak, Global Director, Ford Icons. “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.”

Under the direction of Ford Performance, the creation of the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 saw many specialists called on, including MLe Racecars who collaborated on the design, build and tuning, while Watson Engineering built the roll cage and worked on chassis support and development. Cascadia supplied the car’s electric motor and inverter, while AEM EV worked on software and motor calibration.

“This project was a challenge for all of us at Ford Performance, but a challenge we loved jumping into,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “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.”

The electric Mustang Cobra Jet is currently undergoing testing, with Ford Performance planning to debut their battery-powered quarter mile weapon at an unspecified drag racing event in the US later this year.