Ford Performance Season Kickoff – Part 1

January 17th, Charlotte, North Carolina This past week, Ford Performance kicked off their 2024 season with a star-studded event in the heart of the city. In attendance were over 50 professional drivers who have participated in everything from the Baja 1000 to Formula One. Additionally, Ford flew in special guests like Mark Rushbrook, the Global Director of Ford Performance Motorsports; Edsel Ford II, the great grandson of Ford’s founder Henry Ford; and Jim Farley, Ford Motor Company’s current CEO. Ford Performance left nothing to be desired as they showcased their full lineup of 2024 performance vehicles.

Upon entering the venue, I was greeted by the Ford SuperVan 4.2 that was used to break records at Pikes Peak last year. This 2000-hp electric beast is one of my favorite cars in the lineup. Call me crazy, but I would drive it daily if I had one. Next to the SuperVan, Ford was displaying their new Lightning Switchgear, a purpose-built off-road electric truck. It was an honor to see one in person, especially considering Ford had announced it would not be publicly viewed until January 25th. This isn’t just a Ford Lightning with cooler tires; I knew that as soon as I saw the carbon fiber body panels. According to the Ford website, “The Switchgear was designed in collaboration with RTR and specifically provides a test bed for pushing the boundaries of what’s expected from electric trucks.” As of right now, this vehicle is just in its concept phase, but I’m excited to see one offered to the public in the future.

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Next in the lineup was the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse Funny Car, purposefully built for the NHRA professional drag series. Ford describes it as “the perfect fusion of power, speed, and a legacy of excellence that defines Ford Performance in the world of NHRA racing.” Official information is still to be released about this beast of a machine. Next up was the much more familiar-looking Mustang Factory X, which has been designed for the Pro-Stock class of NHRA racing. It shares a similar body to the street version of the Dark Horse, though the interior is completely stripped. Again, an official release from Ford is yet to be publicized on this vehicle.

Moving along in the lineup, there were four similar-looking Mustangs, but as I got closer, I realized each one had major differences that set it apart from the others. The first of the bunch was the Mustang GT4 race car, a powerful yet accessible vehicle built for track dominance at an affordable price. From the carbon fiber front splitter to the massive rear wing, this pony was nothing shy of impressive. I can’t wait to see one out on the track.

Next up was the Mustang Dark Horse R. This vehicle was designed to be raced in the new Mustang Challenge, an IMSA-sanctioned Mustang-only racing series. The Dark Horse R features the naturally aspirated 5L V8 borrowed from the production Dark Horse Coupe. It’s combined with track-focused upgrades for a “more hard-core pedal to the metal experience.”

Next on the docket was Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s 2024 Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD, used in the Formula Drift Pro series. While from the front it looks similar to the GT4 and Dark Horse R (though quite a bit wider), the rear exposes massive vents behind both wheels, as well as a longer tail, duck-bill-styled wing, and aero disks over the back wheels. Aside from the looks, this Mustang also gets more than 1,300 hp from a 5L V8 with a nitrous oxide system.

The fourth car in this group of stangs was a car that looked very similar to the GT4, except for one glaring difference: it was right-hand drive. This was the Mustang GT Gen3 Supercar. It was specifically designed for the Supercar Championship in Australia. While the vehicle looks similar enough to its American companions, the surprises don’t stop at the placement of the steering wheel. Its sheet metal body hides not only a Coyote 5L V8 but also a sequential transmission.

To the right of these four beauties were two vehicles obviously designed for one purpose alone: NASCAR! First up was the Xfinity Series 7th Gen stock car for the 2024 NASCAR season. While from a distance, this car looks similar to the ones I had seen prior to it, a closer look reveals that the majority of the front aero as well as the headlights, vents, and badges are all just stickers. This wasn’t a surprise, as NASCAR is famous for using stickers, but I was a bit surprised at how much they don’t look like stickers from a distance; they’re very detailed. Additionally, the rest of the vehicle has no panel gaps, as traditional NASCAR vehicles have a single molded body piece that is placed on top of the chassis. It’s worth noting that the hood was smooth, as this is a key difference between the Xfinity Series car and the Cup Series car. Sitting next to this vehicle was the Craftsman Truck Series F150. Similar to the Xfinity car, this was a very smooth vehicle with no panel gaps and fake stickers denoting the prominent features of road-going F150 pickup trucks.

After wandering into a different part of the venue, I came to the Ford Blue Carpet, where there were five more amazing vehicles parked. The first car I spotted was the Ford Puma Rally 1, Ford Performance’s World Rally Car, designed by Chris Williams. The powertrain of this vehicle is very interesting, as it’s equipped with a 1.6-liter Ford Eco-Boost in-line four with turbos and direct injection and then paired with a 100-kw electric motor. Additionally, it boasts a five-speed semi-automatic transmission with mechanical front and rear limited slip differentials.

Next to this little powerhouse were the massive Baja 1000 Ford Bronco Raptor and Baja 1000 Ford F150 Raptor R, both heavily clad in mud. These weren’t just show vehicles; they were the actual vehicles used last year in the Baja 1000. It was refreshing to see a manufacturer as big as Ford stepping into the mud-running world of off-road racing with such specialized vehicles. The Baja 1000 F150 Raptor R seemed more normal, just with higher suspension, bigger tires, wider fenders, and a roll cage. The Baja 1000 Bronco Raptor, however, was completely different from the production Bronco. From the front, you can tell it’s a bronco, but once you get up close, you realize the entire vehicle is completely customized with a bronco-looking front end. Almost the entire interior is just bare skeleton metal and cages. Not much information has been released on this vehicle, so unfortunately, I don’t know any details beyond the look.

Next, there was the vastly different and considerably smaller Bronco Sport, driven by Melissa Clark in the Rebelle Rally and X-Cross classes. The amazing thing about this vehicle is that it’s just the production version of the Bronco Sport. While the team fitted bigger tires, the suspension and powertrain are the same as what you can get from a dealership. The Rebelle Rally is an eight-day map and compass navigational rally across the deserts and epic landscapes of the American West. Teams drive roughly 11 hours a day for the competition. In 2021, Melissa competed with a bone stock 2021 Big Bend trim Bronco Sport. In 2023, Ford upped the game, giving her this Bronco Sport Badlands, which she used to win first in class and second overall.

Last but not least was a Ford Mustang Mach E. While I’m famously not a fan of these, often commenting that they’re not actually even Mustangs (I maintain this argument), I knew from the Red Bull livery that this had to be something special. As it turns out, this wasn’t just any Mach E—this was the 2024 Mach E rally that had been driven by Sergio Perez in February, when Ford announced their return to Formula One with Oracle Red Bull Racing. “The Mach E Rally will be a first of its kind for the market as it pushes EVs in a completely different direction, creating a new kind of performance vehicle,” said Ford in an interview with CarBuzz earlier this year. This vehicle will be going on sale in the next few months, starting at around $65,000 in the United States. It’s designed to be an off-road-ready performance electric SUV with almost 500 horsepower. While the full spec list has not been released, I was told that it has MagneRide shocks and 15.6-inch front brake rotors. It’s also lifted almost an entire inch above the current Mach E and has a Rally Sport Drive mode that focuses on driving over rougher terrain.

While the live stream of the Season Kickoff event was only an hour long, the event itself was over six hours. I experienced far too much to put into a single article, so I’m splitting this article into two parts. Make sure to look for Part Two, where I interview Frankie Muniz, talk shop with the powertrain manager of the Mustang GT3, and ask NASCAR Cup Series champions about the upcoming 2024 season.