New Ford Mustang Mach-E gets Shelby treatment

Respected Ford Mustang tuner Shelby has announced a raft of upgrades for the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E battery-electric SUV that’s due to arrive in regular form in Australia in the fourth quarter of this year.

Only available in Europe initially as a limited-edition (100 units) to celebrate the Carroll Shelby Centennial, the new Shelby parts have been developed for the flagship GT version of the Ford Mustang Mach-E and include a handling pack that lowers the car by a considerable 25.4mm.

Weight-saving has also been a priority with the introduction of a significantly lighter bonnet made from carbon-fibre, while the same lightweight composite has also been used for a new front splitter and the mirror caps.

Racing stripes and Shelby badging both inside and out are also prominent, while other changes designed to improve the sensation of driving the Mustang Mach-E include a new sound system produced by Tennessee-based performance exhaust specialist, Borla, which is supposed to rev-match the electric motor’s RPM and then produce a “hyper realistic” sound of a snarling V8.

Both the Abarth 500e and the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept have similar technology.

Sadly, for those hoping for even more performance, Shelby hasn’t obliged – although few could complain about the GT’s dual-motor variant that in Australia will kickout an impressive 358kW and 860Nm.

That’s enough for a rapid 0-100km/h sprint of 3.7 seconds (with a 300m rollout).

Combined with a standard 91kWh battery, the Mustang Mach-E GT is also said to be capable of a range of around 490km.

What isn’t known is whether the handling pack recalibrates Ford’s MagneRide adaptive dampers, or if they carry over unchanged.

No weight-saving claims have been released, and instead of selling the items individually, the Shelby add-ons will initially be bundled up into a single pack costing a punchy €24,900 ($A41,500).

There’s no word when, or if, Shelby will roll out the upgrades to other markets including Australia.

“We elected to initially offer the Shelby Mustang Mach-E GT only in Europe because sales of EVs are growing much more rapidly there than in the USA,” said Aaron Shelby, grandson of founder Carroll Shelby.

“And from 2016 to 2021, the number of public EV charging stations increased by 431 per cent across Europe. It just makes good business sense for Shelby American.”

For those looking for more acceleration, Ford Performance has the answer – sort of.

Recently, FP unveiled the 1342kW Ford Mustang Super Cobra Jet 1800 – the car it hopes will soon be known as the world’s quickest electric vehicle to cover the quarter mile (402m).

That said, despite its zero tailpipe emissions, the Mustang Super Cobra Jet 1800 has been created strictly as a drag racer, with no chance of it ever being offered with a pair of number plates.

Meanwhile, the regular Mustang Mach-E should be on sale here by Christmas.

Three versions comprising Select, Premium and GT model grades will be offered from launch, but pricing and local-market specs are still to be released.

Beyond the GT’s dual-motor powertrain, the Select will be powered by a 198kW/430Nm single electric motor with 71kWh lithium-ion battery, while the mid-range Premium will come with a gutsier 216kW/430Nm motor and bigger 91kWh battery.

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