Picture this: it’s April 2024 and, on the 60th anniversary of the Mustang, Dodge hits the world with the first electric muscle car… as announced (the year, not the month) when recently introducing the Charger Daytona SRT Banshee concept. Sure, in the muscle car world, the public’s favorite trick is to see carmakers keeping the V8 alive for as long as possible. And, with the upcoming 2024 S650-generation Mustang, Ford is doing just that. But can it afford to let its Mopar rivals get a head start in the e-muscle department?
Now, before anybody mentions the name of the Mustang Mach-E (here it is drag racing the Dodge Durango Hellcat) that’s been in production since 2020, allow us to point out this is a brilliant battery-powered crossover that doesn’t moonlight as a muscle car no matter what its badges tell you.
If Dodge’s bet proves a winning one—and it most likely will—the brand will not only be forever remembered as a pioneer, but also build a loyal battery-powered muscle audience. So, while we’re overly ecstatic about prototypes of the seventh-generation Mustang proving that the V8 firepower is here to stay alongside the EcoBoost turbo-four, we can’t imagine a scenario where the Blue Oval would leave its Detroit rival to carve the electric muscle path alone.
Save the date: the S650 Mustang debuts on September 14, 2022
Later this month, the S650 Mustang will make its debut at the Detroit Auto Show. And there hasn’t been a single hint about an all-electric version of the two-door. In fact, according to an Autoweek story citing unnamed industry analysts, the rumored hybrid version(s) of the 2024 Mustang, which would’ve also brought the first production AWD ‘Stang, have been axed.
So, where does this leave us? Well, before we answer that, we’ll quickly mention that the rendering above portrays the inevitable battery-powered Ford Mustang muscle car, which we’ve nicknamed GT-E. Digital artist Andras Veres (aka andras.s.veres) gifted the original (pre-revamp) S550 with front-end elements borrowed from the Mach-E electric crossover to create the 2D work.
And the result seems to make full sense, not just because the styling language of the donor car naturally fits that of its contemporary host, but also thanks to logical moves like the closed-off grille.
The hybrid S650 ‘Stang was reportedly canceled, with an EV muscle car coming later in the decade
The rumors about the hybrid S650 Mustang’s demise come at a time when even the Porsche 911 is ready to show the world a gas-electric form. The main argument behind them is that the hot-seller that is the Mach E—the admittedly limited production for 2022 has already been spoken for—offsets the ICE Mustang’s emissions.
And while we’ll take this industry water cooler chat with a grain of salt, building on the hypothesis brings us back to the all-electric Ford muscle car point—if the carmaker is indeed preparing to launch a battery-powered ‘Stang in the next few years, hybridization could be superfluous.
Of course, the upcoming ICE Mustang and the inexorable EV ‘Stang could share showrooms for a while, with rumors stating the same will happen within Dodge’s range—while the carmaker is officially retiring the current Gen III HEMIs after December 2023, it hasn’t said anything about the rumors regarding next-gen muscle cars powered by Stellantis’ new Hurricane turbo straight-six motors. Chevrolet? All signs hint at a silent demise of the Camaro, with GM reportedly preparing an extended, electrified Corvette family.
