If you were to build a car for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, what would it look like? It would probably be electric since batteries don’t really care about air density, and it would probably feature a wing the size of Florida. How about a bonkers racing version of an electric crossover with two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans champion Romain Dumas behind the wheel? This is the Super Mustang Mach-E, and although it shares a name and some styling cues with the electric crossover you can buy from your local Ford showroom, it’s a 1,421-horsepower juggernaut on a mission to break records.
If you aren’t familiar with Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, get ready to learn a bit about one of the greatest racing events in America. As the name suggests, it’s a race against the clock up Pikes Peak in Colorado, but that alone doesn’t give a proper sense of scale. We’re talking a 12.42-mile course with more than 156 turns, figures right up there with the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife, often acclaimed as the greatest race track in the world. However, while the Nordschleife has around 1,000 feet of elevation change, the Pikes Peak course has 4,720 feet of it, and it wasn’t even fully paved until 2012.
This is one of the fastest, hairiest, longest-running motorsports spectacles in the world. One wrong move, and you aren’t into a SAFER barrier, you’re off the mountain, hurtling toward boulders the size of Beetles. It’s almost a miracle that it’s been 109 years since the first event and not only is the event still running, it’s getting even faster, and it lets competitors enter just about anything they like. A caged but otherwise bone-stock Bentley Bentayga? Sure. A propane-powered Shelby Cobra replica? Why not? A motorcycle? Absolutely. However, we’re now in the age when electric cars rule the race, and that’s why Ford’s pulling out all the stops with the Super Mustang Mach-E.
Underneath the steroidal silhouette of the Super Mustang Mach-E sits the same sort of 907-volt 50 kWh NMC pouch cell battery pack seen in previous Pikes Peak specials, and the familiar sight of three UHP six-phase motors. However, not only has power output increased to 1,421 horsepower, the high-voltage system is now good for an extra 10 kW of regenerative energy, 710 kW in total.
So, with such modest power upgrades, how does Ford plan on going even faster than last year’s SuperTruck? It starts with the black art of aerodynamics. This thing makes 6,900 pounds of downforce at 150 MPH, and 12,000 pounds of downforce at 200 MPH. While there’s no way this thing will see 200 MPH up Pikes Peak, it should still see the equivalent of an entire F-250 Super Duty pressing it into the tarmac on the mountain’s fastest sections. At the same time, the Super Mustang Mach-E tips the scales 271 pounds lighter than last year’s SuperTruck, clocking a total curb weight of 3,433 pounds. That ought to get it off the line even quicker, not to mention pay dividends in the corners.
The other big upgrade comes in the braking department, where carbon ceramic brakes are replaced by carbon-carbon brakes, first used for brake disc material in the Concorde due to their superior thermal conductivity and performance at scorching temperatures. It’s what top-class Le Mans teams use, and corner entry is a great place to shave time in competition.
So how fast is the Super Mustang Mach-E expected to go? Well, Romain Dumas drove last year’s SuperTruck to a time of 8:53.533, but that’s not the only benchmark Ford’s chasing. The SuperVan 4.2 from 2023 currently holds the open Pikes Peak Challenge Car course record with a time of 8:47.682, and just about every motorsports program dreams of setting records. With this year’s event happening on June 22, it’s only a matter of time before we see if Ford can make some mountain magic happen.
Top graphic credit: FordÂ
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At the elevation being run at Pikes Peak, downforce is likely halved from those stated figures right?
I LOVE Pike’s Peak. It is a frustrating event to watch on “TV”, however. They don’t have a lot of cameras, the cameras aren’t manned, and the cameras often go offline. So you get a lot of repetitive coverage at the base and not a whole lot of the actual climbs. Which I’m sure all just comes down to budget / lack of viewership.
Now that I’ve really sold it, definitely watch and follow! One of my favorite events of the year.
And yeah, as @Droid said, def zero motorcycles. It was a big deal when the organizers were weighing what to do and decided to ban them. Was also definitely the right call.
“King of the Hill”
“propane-powered Shelby Cobra replica”
…and propane accessories!
As a long time follower of PP, it’s just not the same now that it’s paved all the way up.
I realize this wasn’t the choice of the organizers.
“…lets competitors enter just about anything they like….A motorcycle? Absolutely”.
absolutely NOPE – motorcycles banned after Carlin Dunne’s death in 2019.
but your point that PPIHC is fruitloops stands unchallenged.
I wonder if there’s going to be a Pikes Peak edition of the Mach E. A slightly smaller wing, with a decal package and some special wheels would likely sell.
I can’t help but remember the Bishop’s piece last year about how if Ford named it the Torino, the Mach-e would have done just as well, and without the Mustang name dilution.
So in this case, Gran Torino Alpine or similar might work.
Watching NASCAR this weekend, I was struck by the head-on shots of the pace car leading the field…a Corvette that looked like a Subaru crossover compared with the all ground-effected race cars.
It’s cool now that Pikes Peak is paved hillclimbers can partake in that.