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Ford Mustang Hybrid Coming

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Ford Mustang Hybrid Coming in 2023

With the Ford Mustang Hybrid coming in 2023, fans are still getting over the fact that Ford initially said the Ford Mustang Hybrid would arrive in 2020.

Ford planned to launch a redesigned Mustang with a hybrid powertrain sometime in 2020,  but things changed after Jim Hackett took the reins as CEO r in 2017. Supposedly, Mr. Hackett wanted to prioritize the launch of the Mustang Mach-E over other electrified Mustangs, which made sense at the time. The battery-electric crossover debuted last November of 2019 and started deliveries in 2020 as a 2021 model.

Ford’s all-electric Mustang Mach-E continues to grow its sales for 2021. In the legacy automaker’s June report, the Mach-E saw a 27% increase in sales compared to May. Ford has boasted increased EV numbers all around, but the all-electric Mustang tells a bigger story of its current EV sales status. Over 40,000 have been produced.

As for the redesigned Mustang, it was confirmed in February via a job ad listing to be arriving in 2022 as a 2023 model. It’s code-named the S650 (the current Mustang is the S550) and could end up based on the current Mustang’s bespoke D2C platform, or a version of the modular CD6 platform that debuted in the 2020 Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs.

With the Ford Mustang Hybrid coming in just a few short months, it is likely that whatever platform is used for the next Mustang, we should expect the hybrid powertrain to sit in a performance halo.

There’s talk that it will feature a traditional V-8 up front sending drive to the rear wheels, coupled with an electric motor at each of the front wheels. Allegedly, there’s said to be enough battery capacity for a modest electric range.

Ford’s Mustang Hybrid is still on track to shake up the muscle car segment.

While an all-electric Mustang coupe or convertible still isn’t expected – despite Ford teasing us with a 900hp plug-in Mustang “Lithium” last year – the hybrid is still likely to be enough of a departure from tradition to divide enthusiasts.

Slated to be built at Ford’s Flat Rock plant, the Mustang Hybrid played their hand close to the chest with specifications. All Ford would say at the time was that it would pair a gas engine with an electric drivetrain of some sort, for similar performance to a regular V8 gas-only Mustang. There’d also be a bump in low-end torque.

In fact, Ford is considering an all-wheel drive Mustang Hybrid, sources tell Autocar UK. That would be a stark departure from the current car, which has always been offered in rear-wheel drive. A Ford patent filing from 2017, meanwhile, gives one possible explanation for how the automaker’s new drivetrain might work.

Granted by the USPTO in late 2019, the patent – “Twin motor drive system for hybrid electric vehicle” – describes a setup where two electric motors flank a traditional gas engine. The latter is responsible for driving the rear wheels, much in the same way that the V8 in the current Mustang GT drives its rear wheels. The two electric motors, however, would independently drive the front wheels.

That’s one big mystery among several still surrounding the car, which isn’t expected to be revealed until 2022. That would put it at the tail-end of Ford’s original “five year” promise for its electrification roadmap, during which time we’ve seen a number of significant shake-ups.

With the Ford Mustang Hybrid Coming, will that kill gas-only Mustangs?

While there’s no word on non-electrified Mustang models, it seems highly unlikely that Ford would opt to do away with gas-only options in such an iconic car.

These are exciting times, no doubt. One has to wonder how top car builders like Steve Strope will apply their talents to hybrid muscle cars.

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