The Dearborn automaker seems to have hit its stride recently with a range of vehicles aimed at enthusiasts that together form a more exciting product lineup than anything Detroit has to offer. The Ford Ranger Raptor, Bronco Raptor, Mustang Dark Horse and F-150 Raptor R have all proven themselves to be capable performance machines that prove that the Americans can still develop some of the best products on the market. The automaker has become so fanatical that it recently decided to develop a Mustang that will directly compete with the very best the Germans have to offer in the Mustang GTD. There is something for everyone and the Mustang Mach-E Rally offers a driving experience that is completely unique in the electric vehicle market to date.
Background story: The Mustang Mach-E debuted in late 2019 and made waves for one big reason: it wasn’t actually a “Mustang” at all. Enthusiasts were caught off guard by the unexpected move, as the Mach-E was symbolic of a shift that was becoming increasingly apparent: the industry was moving toward an electric future, and traditional norms were about to be challenged. To draw attention to its new EV, Ford opted to apply its most iconic nameplate to a vehicle that bore little resemblance to the classic Mustang of the 1960s.
Market differentiation
The EV space seems to be getting more and more crowded with vehicles that look and perform the same, and automakers are trying new things to differentiate their offerings from the rest. Hyundai even put software in an electric car that makes it sound like it’s running on gasoline and even simulates gear shifts. No one actually asked Hyundai to do this, but hey, it’s cool. It’s different, and you have to respect the company for at least trying something.
The folks at Ford knew the Mach-E was cool and suited a certain demographic, but there was still some untapped creativity sitting on the sidelines. The market hadn’t seen a rally-inspired EV yet, and for a company with a stellar track record of making true off-road machinery, this was too good to pass up.
A meeting was scheduled in Dearborn. On an April morning in 2022, a team of well-dressed, slightly anxious professionals sat down in chairs around a table before an executive arrived and asked a question. “Who wants to take on the task of converting the Mach-E into a rally car?” Well, that’s a new one. Electric vehicles are supposed to be utilitarian and boring. The room fell silent, people looked around, and two hands went up.
Mr. Peter Schultz was one of them. That’s how it begins.
Laying the foundation
Peter was only a few months into a new role in EV product planning at Ford, after just 7 years in automatic transmission calibration. He was still a bit green and probably had some reservations about taking on something like this.
I still had so much to learn, but I wanted to contribute to the team.
In the months that followed, Peter and Craig were able to create a list of substantive assumptions, establish a development timeline, and put together a business case to get the project off the ground and approved by the accountants in the building. Dedicated number crunchers who would undoubtedly scrutinize the numbers and make a final judgment that would determine the future of the Mach-E Rally dream.
Lots of pictures coming, there were too many to choose from. Enjoy.
They must have had a soft spot for their hearts, because they gave it the green light and it was released for production. After this test was passed, Peter was given the task of seeing the project through development, launch and eventually production.
Looking for inspiration
Peter states that “the project was intended to be a very small and extremely quick investigation. It was really just Craig and I, which gave us a lot of freedom to make what we wanted.” This allowed them to be creative and incorporate their own personal tastes into the vehicle.
They created a digital message board to post their ideas and look for ways to incorporate rally history into the car in a budget-friendly way. That may sound easier than it is.
The first thing we noticed was that every Ford WRC car in the last 30 years had white wheels. We knew white wheels would be polarizing, but an electric SUV called a Mustang was polarizing enough – we decided to go for it instead of staying away.
They added some rally-inspired lighting ahead, and while large hood-mounted lights weren’t possible on a production vehicle (likely for safety reasons), they did get a set of standard fog lights and let engineering find a way to mount them to the front grille area. Some other inspiration came from their shared love of hot hatches, with the Mach-E’s rear spoiler resembling the previous-generation Focus RS.
Peter said some of the interior, particularly the white elements, were partly inspired by his own Focus ST, which he had customised with some tasteful body-coloured interior accents.
Not just an appearance package
Craig and Peter wanted to make sure that the car was truly capable of supporting its rally-inspired appearance. To achieve that, they consulted one of Ford’s top off-road attributes engineers, Chris Berchin. Chris is a total rally nerd (there are worse things to be in) and regularly competes in local SCCA RallyCross events with his modified Mazda Miata. He gave them a detailed list of not only what hardware would be needed to make the Mach-E Rally-ready, but also what driving attributes would be needed to make the car perform in the demanding environment in which future owners would be using their new toys.
Peter at Rebelle Rally in Mammoth Lakes, California in October 2023
Additional skills
Peter was new to the world of program planning and this was a daunting task for him alone. Craig, on the other hand, had the experience needed to steer Peter’s motivation in the right direction. Without both of them, with their different backgrounds but similar motivations, the project might never have come to fruition. Peter’s downstream engineering development experience from the previous years proved valuable when it came to keeping track of the scope. He knew what would and wouldn’t work with the people on the line as the project approached assembly time. Peter gave the team access to tools and facilities that other planners typically didn’t have, which was crucial when Ford developed the first mule and performed the first demonstrations in Mexico City.
By combining our individual strengths and experiences, Craig and I were able to leverage each other’s passion and enthusiasm to bring this vehicle to life.
Many thanks to Peter Schultz for giving me the time to interview him. Also thanks to Ford PR for providing the photos and giving the green light for the information Peter provided.
Thanks for reading and consider subscribing to Auto Digest for more car stories. -JWK