Test drive: 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1
The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is the latest in a line of high performance Mustangs that dates back to 1969 and very different than the brand's other "Mach" model, according to Fox News Autos Editor Gary Gastelu.
Way back in 2017, then-Ford CEO Mark Fields said that there would be hybrid versions of the Ford F-150 and Mustang on sale by 2020. He was half-right.
The Mustang Mach 1 is powered by a 5.0-liter V8. (Ford)
While the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid made it to market and electrified pony car fans can buy the all-electric Mustang Mach-E utility vehicle, the two-door sports car remains a pure internal combustion engine play.
According to Automotive News, that's going to change in a couple of years.
At a meeting in Dallas last week, company officials told dealers that a new Mustang is set to be launched in 2023 and that a hybrid model would be added to the lineup by 2025.
Ford has not publicly confirmed the details of the report and there was no mention of an all-electric Mustang coupe or convertible in development, as reported by Reuters in May.
Unlike General Motors, which has ended the development of hybrid vehicles to focus on all-electric models, Ford is pursuing both technologies and has an extensive lineup of hybrids and plug-in hybrids currently on sale and in the works that the Mustang could draw from.
That includes the F-150 PowerBoost's drivetrain, which is based around a turbocharged V6 and is rated at a very muscle car-like 430 horsepower and 570 lb-ft of torque.
Ford teased a hybrid Mustang in a 2018 commercial. (Ford)
In 2018, Ford included an animation of what appeared to be a hybrid Mustang and the following year filed a patent for a V8 engine with two electric motors mounted to it that could drive the front wheels of a vehicle.
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If a hybrid Mustang arrives in 2025, it may actually be in a class by itself. Dodge has confirmed that it will introduce an all-electric muscle car in 2024 while the latest rumor is that the Camaro will soon be replaced in Chevy's lineup by an all-electric high performance sedan.