Ford Ceo Wants To Create A 1,000-hp Beast To Win Dakar

Ford

The automotive early whitethorn beryllium each astir software-defined vehicles, self-driving cars, and EVs, but Ford has been showing immoderate refreshing, throwback attitudes toward bully old-fashioned motorsports. The latest "win connected Sunday, waste connected Monday" task was tipped by CEO Jim Farley, who thinks nan Blue Oval should build a 1,000-horsepower beast and spell aft triumph astatine nan Dakar Rally successful Saudi Arabia. "I'm reasoning really profoundly astir it and usually that turns into something," Farley said connected Bloomberg Hot Pursuit podcast, arsenic reported by Automotive News. He had already dropped immoderate hints astir nan thought backmost successful February.

Ford ran nan purpose-built Raptor T1+ astatine nan 2025 Rally successful January and notched a third-place finish; previously, nan institution had entered Ranger T1+ vehicles. The Raptors T1+s, pinch Coyote V8s nether nan hood, were raced successful a collaboration betwixt Ford Performance and UK-based M-Sport, a business that dates backmost to nan 1990s. From nan sounds of it, Farley thinks that adding immoderate superior oomph to nan powertrain could return Ford from position 3 to position 1 astatine Dakar. He's besides reasoning astir nan commercialized impact, telling Bloomberg that customers of Ford's Raptor R high-performance truck person captured his attention. "They spent $120,000 connected an 800-horsepower pickup," he said.

Ford

Automotive News reported that nan Dakar-slayer, for illustration nan Mustang GTD, would sticker supra $300,000. It would besides beryllium produced successful a severely constricted tally (Farley's comments propose that it wouldn't beryllium a racing-only platform, for illustration nan Raptor T1+). In this respect, it would beryllium nan rallying type of nan Ford GT supercar that nan institution deployed to triumph its people astatine nan 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, remaking history 50 years aft defeating Ferrari successful a 1-2-3 expanse successful 1966. That car costs much than $450,000 and only 1,350 were homologated for waste to nan public. And location is precedent for an off-road supercar: nan Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. Also nan Porsche 911 Dakar.

Farley's type would person a hybrid gas-electric powertrain and connection immoderate benignant of "digitally enabled" technological capability, which he didn't specifically define. Interestingly, he said that he was acold much willing successful Ford winning Dakar than making waves successful Formula 1, wherever nan institution has re-entered nan speech astatine nan pinnacle of world motorsports via a collaboration pinch Red Bull to beryllium an motor supplier.

Ford

Farley loves racing and is an progressive participant, truthful mounting his sights connected a Dakar trophy makes cleanable sense. He believes that motorsport continues to beryllium a awesome measurement to some vindicate Ford's engineering chops and adhd to nan company's competitory aura (I wrote a book astir Ford's 2016 Le Mans campaign and erstwhile I first interviewed Farley erstwhile he became CEO successful 2020, it was nan first point he wanted to talk about). With Raptor and Bronco, Ford has plentifulness of off-roading credibility, and its Dakar results bespeak that nan institution wants to everlastingly stamp its sanction successful nan Saudi godforsaken pinch nan triumph that has frankincense acold been elusive.

Is Farley's timing right, however, fixed that nan main plotline successful nan car business for past decades has been package positive electrification? He's rather perchance connected to something, arsenic nan EV marketplace is struggling, particularly successful nan U.S., and Ford's halfway business isn't precisely anemic erstwhile it comes to combustion. I deliberation he's sensing a displacement successful nan upwind and sees a measurement to present different world motorsports accomplishment for Ford that mightiness really support income of immoderate of nan Blue Oval's bigger-ticket offerings. Motorsports prowess is besides an area wherever bequest automakers person a century's worthy of laps connected China's upstart brands, and it ne'er hurts to thin into racing wins erstwhile caller competitors get connected nan scene.