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Ford’s “Mustang-inspired” Mach E, Tesla Model Y competitor, spied in production form

The Mach E SUV, Ford’s hotly anticipated Tesla Model Y competitor, which debuts on November 17, has been spied in production form. The photos were posted in a thread on the Mach E forum (below), the burgeoning fan forum for Ford’s upcoming SUV.

Mach E forum previously brought us what looked like close-to-production renders, and the new spy shots don’t look far off.

You’ll have to click through to the Mach E forum to see the shots in full, as the photographer has not given rights for reuse.

The spy shots have the traditional camouflage to distract the eye, but the shape of the car is very visible. It looks quite similar to renders we’ve seen, though the actual spy shots make the car look smoother and less angular.

A smoother design is to be expected from an EV. Smoother lines tend to help aerodynamics, which then help efficiency, which is important for an electric vehicle.

The photos show a definite Mustang inspiration, particularly in the front fascia, fenders, and both head- and tail-lights.

The grille of the Mach E is closed, as is common on EVs, which need less airflow for cooling (and none for combustion). But the shape still suggests “Mustang.”

The “grille” will have an emblem of some sort, which is currently covered up. This emblem is likely to either be the blue Ford oval, or perhaps the Mustang “pony” emblem.

Despite the smoothed lines, the fenders still have a characteristic bump that calls out the Mach E’s muscle car-inspired design.

Also notable in these spy shorts, there seem to be no door handles.

Certainly there has to be some sort of way to get into the car, so perhaps the door handles are buttons, or slide out (though we can’t see any “cuts” in the camouflage where handles would slide out of).

The rear end shows taillights that look very similar to standard Mustang taillights. The rear otherwise looks quite different, of course, with an SUV hatchback rather than the trunk of a standard Mustang.

And finally, just what we were waiting for: no exhaust pipes. Breathe clean and deep, my friends.

We’ve previously seen official camouflaged photos from Ford of a Mach E test mule doing winter testing, but those photos look drastically different from these ones today. The other design was clearly just a test mule, as it looks much boxier (and, according to this author, much uglier).

Click through to the Mach E forum for a gallery of all the spy shots of the car.

Electrek’s Take

When we first heard of Ford making a “Mustang-inspired” SUV, the whole concept seemed kind of silly. Clearly, putting a sportscar into an SUV shape didn’t make a lot of sense.

But with all the info we get about this car, it just looks and sounds better and better.

The design looks a lot like today’s standard ubiquitous “crossover SUV,” but still manages to have enough character rather than just looking like a misshapen jellybean. And if Ford follows through on its promise that this car will “go like hell,” then hopefully it will be plenty fun to drive.

Given the inherent performance benefits of electric drive, it could well be more fun than driving a gas Mustang. But maybe not as fun as Ford’s 900hp Mustang concept from SEMA.

What do you think about the Mach E?  Are you happy with the design?  Excited about the car?  Let us know in the comments.

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Avatar for Jameson Dow Jameson Dow

Jameson has been driving electric vehicles since 2009, and has been writing about them and about clean energy for electrek.co since 2016.

You can contact him at jamie@electrek.co