Ford has unveiled an electrified version of its iconic Mustang muscle car. And rather puzzlingly, it comes with a stick-shift.
Electric vehicles typically don’t have gearboxes, because they are not needed. But that hasn’t stopped the Detroit-based automaker from putting one in here.
The Mustang Lithium was produced with help from Webasto – a German company that specialises in high-efficiency heating and cooling for vehicles.
For now, the Mustang fastback is just a prototype that Ford will be showing off at the 2019 SEMA show.
Instead of the car’s usual naturally-aspirated V8 sits an 800-volt Webasto battery system, that can produce upwards of 900 horsepower and 1,000lb-ft of instant torque (no other performance specifications were provided by Ford).
What makes this car unusual over other electric cars, is the power is fed to the wheels via a six-speed manual transmission system. The gearbox adds some old-school charm to this all-electric mustang.
The car also boasts the same Brembo brakes from the Shelby GT350R, a custom rear diffuser and side-splitters. You also get a semi-see-through hood.
While Ford has said its all-electric Mustang is a one-off, it’s hoped that the new electric gearbox system could trickle down to some of its more high-end electric vehicles in future. Because while it may not be necessary, it will certainly go a long way to sparking old-school gearhead’s interest in electric cars.
