Even as Ford Racing shifts its future racing demonstrators toward hybrid powertrains, its current electrified experiments are still piling up victories. At the 104th running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Romain Dumas piloted the No. 125 Super Mustang Mach-E EV demonstrator to an overall victory with a blistering 8:18.202-minute run to the 14,115-foot summit.
The effort earned Dumas his sixth King of the Mountain crown, secured victory in the new Unlimited Production-Based class, and delivered Ford Racing its second overall win on America’s Mountain. The accomplishment arrives as Ford celebrates 125 years of racing. Ford first competed at Pikes Peak in 1916, and more than a century later, the company returned with an electric demonstrator designed to push the limits of performance and development.
Built with STARD and supported by Pirelli, the Super Mustang Mach-E packs more than 1,400 horsepower from three STARD UHP Six-Phase electric motors driving all four wheels. A 50-kWh battery supports up to 710 kW of regenerative braking, while its aerodynamic package can generate as much as 12,000 pounds of downforce.
Those capabilities were put to the test over Pikes Peak’s 12.42-mile course, which features 156 turns and climbs 4,725 feet before reaching the 14,115-foot summit. And, you might imagine, Dumas was thrilled to finally complete the mission after last year’s weather-shortened effort.
Risky Race
“I’m really, really happy about this win. We were matching our simulation time, or even possibly better, so we squeezed everything out. The car was great,” he said. “Driving Pikes Peak is always a great privilege. We know how risky the race is, how dangerous the race is, and how we are always playing with the limits.”
The victory followed a year-long refinement program that touched nearly every aspect of the vehicle. Ford Racing engineers scanned the car against its original CAD data, measured center-of-gravity and inertia characteristics, and conducted extensive kinematics and compliance testing to improve steering precision, roll stiffness, suspension geometry, and overall chassis balance.
The team also optimized the Super Mustang Mach-E’s five-way-adjustable dampers through seven- and eight-post rig testing, while Dumas and Ford engineers completed thousands of simulated Pikes Peak runs to fine-tune the setup.
“This is an incredible moment for Ford Racing and the team that delivered the Super Mustang Mach-E through a long and challenging development cycle. Pikes Peak is unlike any circuit in the world,” Nick Kuhajda, Program Supervisor, Ford Racing Demonstrators, said. “It requires complete focus from the technical team and tremendous bravery from the driver. Even with a perfect car, weather and track conditions can take the result out of your hands.”
Altered Aero
Aerodynamic development played a major role in the effort. Tested in Ford’s rolling road wind tunnel, the Super Mustang Mach-E became the highest-downforce vehicle ever evaluated in the facility, helping engineers maximize stability and driver confidence while generating valuable data for future Ford Racing programs.
“After last year’s shortened race, the team returned with countless hours of track and laboratory testing behind it. I am particularly proud of our work in Ford’s new rolling road wind tunnel. With up to 12,000 pounds of downforce available, understanding aerodynamic performance and balance was critical to giving Romain confidence on the mountain,” Kuhajda added. “The Super Mustang Mach-E also became the highest-downforce vehicle tested in the facility, helping prepare the team for Ford Racing’s Hypercar program later this year. I am incredibly proud of the engineers, technicians, and logistics teams who made this victory possible.”
While the Super Mustang Mach-E isn’t headed for production, the technologies developed through the program are feeding directly into Ford’s future EV and hybrid efforts. More importantly, the victory demonstrated that electrified performance can thrive in one of motorsport’s most demanding environments. For one Sunday on America’s Mountain, the Super Mustang Mach-E stood alone at the top.
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