It is surreal climbing into one of those camouflaged prototypes made iconic by spy photographers. It feels all too familiar, but eerily different. Its like being transported into a futuristic sci-fi film that reimagines the icons we know and love. The masked vehicles styling hints are clear even obscured by the vinyl disguise, but sliding into the passenger seat the juxtaposition was clear. The familiar doubled-browed Mustang dash aesthetic and pony on the steering wheel said we were home, but the expansive 15.5-inch Sync 4 screen taking centerstage says the future is now. A pro driver is behind the wheel to chauffeur us around in this early version of an all-new machine. Putting the media in a prototype is something that just doesnt happen, as auto makers dont want to be judged before the final product is refined. This move shows that Ford is pushing all-in on battery-electric vehicle technology, and nothing screams that louder than making a BEV SUV part of the Mustang family. You can say, Hey, I'm going to get into electrification and I'm going to sheepishly get into it, or I'm going to boldly get into it, Dave Pericak, Fords Global Director, Icons, said. And we are confident in ourselves and in our abilities and we said, were going to boldly get in and were going to take our most iconic products and were going to show everybody that electrification isnt just about economy. To that end, as we leave the lot at Jet Center Los Angeles which is ironically adjacent to BEV power player Teslas sister company Space X the driver drops the hammer and the smile grows as our head pushes back against the seat and the whirring swell of simulated engine sounds inspired by Mustang movie machines and futuristic film vehicles created by a musician turned NVH engineer, Michael Sonnenberg, complements the forward motion in a familiar but fresh fashion. As we make it back into the facility, there is a brief performance exhibition. A simple slalom course starts us off. The low-slung crossover SUV carries its battery weight low, which helped engineers dial in handling befitting its nameplate. The car has a bit of lean and squat, as it glides through the cones in a composed fashion. A dynamic cluster animation mimics the attitude of the real-world machine as the eAWD system plants to power with ease. The importance of that independence is that the Mach-E system can fine-tune and adjust to any traction situation Beyond that, it can be further optimized to deliver performance, Paul Johnston, Vehicle Architecture engineer, explained. The front motor torque is additional torque, not the distributed torque like it would have been in a mechanical powertrain. So that means that helps us to deliver inspiring dynamically adaptable performance. As we round the corner between hangars, there room designated for an all-out straight-line acceleration run. Once again, the instant-on delivery of the base Mach-Es 332 horsepower and 417 lb-ft of torque elicits a smile. The thrust isnt enough to scare a boosted Coyote, but it is plenty entertaining. There is definite potential here, as the Mach-Es most aggressive experience mode, Unbridled, sharpens the throttle response, steering feel, and powertrain sounds. The other Experience modes include Whisper, which is obviously quieter and tamer, while Engage delivers sporty every day performance. The Mustang Mach-E wholeheartedly rejects the notion that electric vehicles are only good at reducing gas consumption, said Hau Thai-Tang, Fords chief product development and purchasing officer. People want a car thats thrilling to drive, that looks gorgeous, and that can easily adapt to their lifestyle and the Mustang Mach-E delivers all of this in unmatched style. Ford is expecting the base machine to deliver 0-60 acceleration that exceeds the base Porsche Macans 6.3-second performance, while the GT promises to do the job in under 4 seconds and the GT Performance Edition will rival the Porsche 911 GTS with mid-3-second acceleration courtesy of a whopping 459 horsepower and 612 lb-ft of torque. As you might expect from such a cutting-edge vehicle, it was the first Ford fully developed in the virtual world before the first prototypes were created, which helped not only accelerate the development, but dial-in the performance to something that is worthy of wearing the running horse. This is the first program to fully use our simulator technology to develop this product. And Ron (Heiser Chief Program Engineer) and I would go down in North Carolina with a team in drive different setups for the vehicle to understand how it was performing, were we hitting it, was it right? Pericak explained. It was developed as a result of our racing program. Our NASCAR drivers are on that simulator each and every single day of the week and we have honed that technology to a point where you change the spring, you change the shock, you feel it, and so were able to really tune the cars in and get them to where we need before we build our first prototype. That simulator also allowed Pericak to imbue the Mach-E with its Mustang soul. When engineers thought they were close, he traveled and drove the virtual Mach-E. His review was brief. He told them it drove nicely, but it simply wasnt a Mustang. So it was back to the virtual drawing board with suspension and chassis improvements to deliver the goods. If you just distill it down to what do we all want. We all want power, we all want instantaneous power. Give it to me now and you can't give it to me fast enough. Electrification provides that, Pericak said. Im telling you when you drive the GT, it will blow your mind. Now isnt that what Mustangs all about? Of course the idea of Mustang isnt just that simple. Performance is a key component, but the essence of the car until this moment has always been a two-door, rear-wheel drive sport coupe the original pony car. Its loyal fans, your scribe included, have difficulty adjusting to change, especially change of this magnitude, but its a decision Ford didnt enter into lightly. We took the most passionate Mustang enthusiasts in the company and put them on this project, Fords President, North America Kumar Galhotra said. These are the people who were not wanting to let this vehicle out of the studio unless it met their standards of what Mustang should be. This vehicle began in concept at Fords agile Team Edison skunkworks as a traditional compliance machine a Focus BEV designed for efficiency. Then the company realized that growing acceptance for electrification would mean making these cars cool, and what is cooler than Mustang. As the project moved from Mustang-inspired to full-on Mustang product, the corporate stakes grew exponentially. Weve got the world's best-selling sports coupe. We invented the SUV segment in America, and we wondered could they go together? But we didn't know if they could, Darren Palmer, Fords Global Product Development Chief BEV, told us. We started to build it up and said, This is could really be really something else. Then we started simulating what it could be and then we said Mustang-inspired was not stretchy enough. Lets push ourselves more and it has to be worthy and that again redoubled it. If you get to touch an icon, you better be worthy. While pushing all in with the iconic brand brought the best out in the team, this project wasnt just about making electrification more mainstream, it is about future-proofing the Mustang heritage. Ford wants to appeal to a younger customers that loves the latest technology while still engaging with traditional customers, which is the crux of the Mach-E proposition. It is an addition to the stable, not a substitution for the familiar two-door pony cars we know and love. And, it turns out, the current S550 platform is ill-suited to supporting an electrified powertrain. If we love the brand, we have to support the brand in its evolution and its growth, so electrification is going to enable that. Now the way you do that is really important, Pericak told us. If we would have taken Mustang and just literally replaced it with an electrified vehicle that has nothing to do with Mustang, it would've been just swapping a badge and that would would've been silly. Thats not what we did. Were saying well love this icon. Well protect the icon, and well continue to do that. Weve got some future product coming up that will blow your mind. So even if you are skeptical about this latest Mustang variant, keep in mind that it will help keep the Mustang galloping into the future for many years to come, much as Porsche augmented it potent sports cars with a popular line of profitable SUVs. So in a world where fuel economy and the regulations that are coming upon us from our government and everything else are really challenging, Pericak added. If you don't have an offsetting product, it's gonna be hard to keep building those big V8s that we all know and love because corporate compliance is a real thing. We have to comply, so a product like the Mach-E helps us put out a GT500. This really is an opportunity for us to keep doing what we love and at the same time building the bridge to the future. That future includes five new models ranging from the base Mach-E Select in the $40,000 range and topping out with the Mach-E GT at over $60,000. Between those are Premium and California Route 1 editions, as well as a limited run of First Edition models. The mileage range varies from 230 to 300 miles, and AWD is optional on most of the models. Most of the models will be available late next year, while the GT will arrive in the spring of 2021. You can now put down a refundable $500 deposit online to reserve one, which is particularly imported if you want one of the limited First Edition models, but any Mach-E delivered in the first year or so should qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which makes the proposition all the more tempting for those ready to make the leap to a performance EV. Whether or not you are ready, the future of the Mustang has arrived and it is likely that some of the development strategies and technology showcased on the Mach-E will influence the path of its two-door brethren, so it will be interesting to see how the platform evolves from here on out. 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