2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally Slings Gravel With 480 HP, More Sidewall, and MagneRide
How do you make an electric Mustang crossover cool? Lift it a little and throw a bunch of boy racer parts at it.
I've always thought electric cars with dual-motor all-wheel drive would be great for kicking up rooster tails, and it looks like Ford agrees. That's why it went ahead and built the 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally. It takes the best bits of the Mach-E GT Performance Edition and combines them with lifted suspension, skid plates, and a spoiler influenced by the Focus RS to become a rowdy EV with at least 480 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque.
Those power numbers aren't finalized just yet, but it's safe to bet that Ford will hit its targets. What's more, the Mach-E Rally will apparently be able to sustain peak power for longer thanks to key software improvements. Ford has even conjured up a RallySport drive mode that allows for more yaw in big corners and creates a linear throttle map so there aren't any surprises.
The Mach-E Rally's MagneRide suspension features unique adjustable damping and 20 millimeters of additional ride height. For the #nevermetric among us, that's about 0.8 inches. You might argue that isn't much of an increase, and you'd be right, but lifting it any higher wouldn't be ideal because you're raising the center of gravity too. This is a happy medium with a little more clearance, but not so much that it screws the handling dynamics.
Flying around on loose surfaces is what this car is meant to do best. Those 19-inch, rally-style alloy wheels are wrapped in 235/55 Michelin CrossClimate2 rubber that bridges the gap between daily comfort and all-terrain performance. You could always swap 'em out for a more aggressive tire if you want, but this isn't exactly a competition-bred racehorse. I asked Ford how much the Mach-E Rally weighs and a spokesperson told me 4,975 pounds—roughly 1,650 more than the Subaru WRX it was benchmarked against.
It definitely looks the part of a dirt-road duster. There's the hatch-mounted spoiler out back, integrated fog lights up front, and dealer-installed mud flaps behind each tire. The racing stripes really work, in my opinion, and Ford is painting the Mach-E Rally in some great colors: Grabber Blue, Shadow Black, Eruption Green, and Grabber Yellow. If you're cool with paying extra, you can also have yours in Star White or Glacier Gray. All of 'em have a protective film on the door cladding and fender arches to fight against debris.
Ford promises 250 miles of range from its 91-kilowatt-hour battery. That isn't a ton—about 10 miles less than the GT Performance Edition—but it could be worse.
Pricing for the Mustang Mach-E Rally will kick off somewhere around $65,000. That's far from a bargain, but it's actually slightly cheaper than the Mach-E GT Performance Edition. If you're happy to pay that for a four-door family car with tons of torque, then you'll finally be able to in early 2024.
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