5 days ago
Seeking Pikes Peak Record, Ford Ditches F-150 SuperTruck for New Super Mustang Mach-E
There are few races globally each year that hold such historic legacies and general allure as the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The 'race to the clouds' is run annually on a public road that snakes up a literal mountain, and it holds a tight grip on manufacturers looking to show just how good their motorsports engineers are. Last year, Romain Dumas took the win in the 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck but missed out beating Volkswagen's record of 7 minutes, 57 seconds in the ID.R, set in 2018 (and which was also driven by Dumas). For 2025, Dumas returns with Ford yet again with one goal and a new car. Or, rather, a new SUV: the Super Mustang Mach-E.
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You'd think that Dumas would be content with holding the Pikes Peak record, but race car drivers are a finicky bunch and usually don't settle for 'good enough.' That's why Dumas continues to drive up Pikes Peak with a rival brand like Ford. He wants to beat the mountain, again, for that next hit of ecstasy knowing he's set a new, seemingly impossible record to break. It's also why Ford has hired him—the automaker knows he's one of the best going up that mountain thanks to a record that has stood for nearly a decade now. I
Now Ford recognizes he needs a new ride, so this year, he's piloting something a bit closer to a car than a truck or van. The Mustang Mach-E is a wild looking creation, and a big step beyond the 2023 SuperVan 4.2 racer and Ford F-150 SuperTruck. The Mach-E also looks to continue the all-electric domination of Pikes Peak; since VW ran the ID.R to the current record, no ICE-powered vehicle has broken it.
Details on the Super Mustang Mach-E are scarce right now, since all we have is an Instagram post from Ford introducing it. An all-new racing vehicle, it appears to carry over little from the SuperTruck or even the SuperVan 4.2. The entire aerodynamics package has changed, with larger diffuser tunnels exiting the rear. The rear wing has gone back to a more traditional race car design with endplates over the curved, body joining structure. Even the front spoiler has changed with thicker end plates and new features.
But the biggest change of all is using the Mach-E body. While just as much of an interpretation as the Lightning SuperTruck was to the F-150, the Mach-E is much closer to looking like its road car version. Much like the NASCAR EV prototype, however, the Super Mach-E is more coupe like than four-door SUV of the street legal electric crossover. This has reduced the overall frontal area and looks to have possibly lowered the overall profile versus both SuperVan and SuperTruck.
Ford has promised more details closer to the race, but 2025 is looking like a massive effort by the Blue Oval to give Dumas every chance to get that dopamine rush of taking the overall win and the record again.
