GT is Ford's in-house shorthand for performance, and those two unassuming letters mark this electric SUV out as the 'hot' Mustang Mach-E. With the promise of sharper handling and extra lashings of power, could this be the Mach-E that finally lives up to the Mustang name?
In the metal
At first glance, the Mach -E GT looks much like the standard models, albeit with a handful of minor tweaks. The basic silhouette is more or less unchanged, but eagle-eyed readers will spot the more pronounced chin spoiler. You also get the chance to pick one of two garish paint colours in Grabber Blue and Cyber Orange, neither of which is subtle. Fortunately, depending on how much of an extrovert you are, more conventional hues are also available.
Otherwise, the main differences can be found at the front, where there's a grey grille panel in place of the normal Mach-E's moustache arrangement. That's joined by new aerodynamic air inlets low down on the bumper and body-coloured trim around the wheel arches and sills. You also get some intricate 20-inch machined alloy wheels, behind which you'll find the red callipers of the Brembo braking system - and you get a little GT badge in place of the horse emblem on the boot lid.
Although those changes seem quite minor, they add up to make a noticeable difference. We were a little underwhelmed by the standard Mach-E's external design, but the GT feels slightly more cohesive. The grille-mimicking panel at the front and the more aggressive bumpers somehow suit the car better, making the whole thing a little easier on the eye.
While we may have had reservations about the Mach-E's bodywork, there was never any doubt about the interior. Minimalist and well-built, it is a triumph of style and substance, and the GT version offers more of the same. There aren't many features to mark the GT out from the standard car, but that's no bad thing.
You get the same enormous central touchscreen that controls almost everything, and you get the same digital instrument display that shows you 'ground speed', navigation instructions and battery information. It's all powered by Ford's Sync 4 infotainment system, which means it's all very slick and very pretty, even if it feels a little illogical at times.
But this is true across the Mach-E range, and the only major additions made for the GT model are the seats. Finished in a mixture of leather and 'suedecloth', they're designed to offer more support and to hold you in place when you're cornering with a little more gusto. They do a good job on both fronts, and they're more comfortable than you might imagine. Taller drivers might bemoan the lack of adjustment in the headrest, but most others will find them perfectly agreeable.
In fact, the figures suggest the Mach-E GT is every bit as capable a family tourer. You get the same 420-litre boot as in the standard Mach-E, and you get the same capacious rear seats. You even get the Mach-E's handy 'frunk', which hides under the bonnet and offers an extra 100 litres of capacity.
Driving it
Stuff practicality; performance is the name of the game for the GT model, and it has that in spades. Beneath the slightly more aggressive skin, you get not one but two electric motors, one on each axle for a maximum 487hp and a gargantuan 860Nm of torque. The on-board computers cleverly decide how much power is required from each motor, hence determining the front-to-rear split.
The logic behind that decision is largely dependent on the driving mode you select. Like the standard car, the GT gets three primary modes: Whisper, Active and Untamed. Whisper mode sets the car up for refinement and stability, while Untamed gives you a sharper throttle response and heavier steering, as well as depending on the rear motor more. Active mode is a kind of halfway house, slotting in between the two in terms of responsiveness and power delivery.
But the GT offers drivers a fourth way, with the introduction of the Untamed Plus mode. That essentially gives you all the benefits of the Untamed settings, as well as calibrating the electrical system to offer more consistent power delivery during repeated use of full throttle - something only likely to come in handy on a racetrack. Similarly, Untamed Plus dials back the traction and stability control systems, making them less intrusive in a bid to help drivers feel more at one with the car.
In truth, all the modes are fairly unnecessary. None has any impact on the maximum power output available and, with such potent motors, the GT was never going to be slow. Flat out, Ford says it will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds, which puts it on a par with the Audi R8 supercar. So, while Whisper mode might feel marginally more sluggish than Untamed, it's still ridiculously rapid. And for most people, most of the time, the increased refinement more than makes up for any minor shortfall in response.
Those modes don't have much impact on the handling, either. Sure, the wheel feels a little heavier in Untamed mode - possibly too heavy - but that's all you'll notice unless you're really pushing hard. Not that we're complaining. The Mach-E GT is incredibly good to drive, with suspension that keeps body lean well in check through corners and steering that has a sense of urgency and meaty precision. There's plenty of grip, too, so the GT changes direction astonishingly quickly for an SUV weighing 2.2 tonnes.
That said, it isn't an awful lot more impressive than the already accomplished 'cooking' versions of the Mach-E. And it's almost as comfortable. Yes, the 20-inch alloys do make potholes feel a touch more jagged, but Ford has fitted its 'MagneRide' adaptive suspension to help smooth the ride out. It works relatively well, but you can still tell this is a heavy car riding on big wheels and low-profile tyres.
As a result, you might feel the harsher bumps more than you would in a standard Mach-E, but you don't get a lot more feel through the steering wheel or - more worryingly - the Brembo performance brakes. It's all very effective, and nobody will complain about the GT's stopping distances, but it doesn't feel as organic as you might have hoped.
It's particularly bad when you engage the 'one-pedal' setting, which makes the accelerator feel stodgy and then slows the car dramatically the moment you ease off the gas. It doesn't feel as natural as the normal mode, but owners may get used to it in time, and it might help eke a few more kilometres of range from the battery pack.
Not that you have to worry too much about that. Ford has fitted the Mach-E's 98.7kWh extended-range battery to the GT model, giving it 88kWh of usable capacity. According to the WLTP conditions, that's enough to take you 500km before you need to plug in, but in the real world you're probably looking at 300- to 350km without trying too hard. If you can use the one-pedal system, stay away from the accelerator and go easy on the air conditioning, you could probably top 400km.
That sort of range puts the GT somewhere in the middle of the Mach-E line-up. Basic versions with the smaller battery won't be able to match the GT's long-distance capability, but cars with bigger batteries and less power will give you a greater striking distance from a single charge.
What you get for your money
As you might expect, the Mach-E GT is set to become the costliest Mach-E model you can buy. Irish pricing has not yet been confirmed, but we're fully expecting the GT to top the line-up, commanding a considerable premium over the €74,622 Ford currently charges for the extended-range Mach-E AWD.
You will get a lot for your money, though. Standard Mach-E GT equipment includes those 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and privacy glass, as well as the 'Quickclear' heated windscreen, two-zone climate control and the Mach-E's keyless entry system, which includes a keypad hidden in the B-pillar. Simply program in a PIN and you can access the car without the key.
You also get a 360-degree manoeuvring camera that gives you a top-down view of the car when you're parking, and you get parking sensors at the front and rear. Add in the standard navigation system and a pretty spectacular B&O sound system, and you've got a well-stocked SUV.
Summary
The GT version of the Mach-E is a seriously impressive car. Fast in a straight line and poised in the corners, it's a technological tour de force. The problem is, with other versions offering more range for less money and only a little less real-world performance, the GT seems slightly superfluous.
But since when did that matter? PCs usually offer better value than Apple Macs, but you can't see Apple calling the administrators any time soon. It's the same story with the Mach-E GT. For keen drivers, this is the best iteration of the Mach-E, and that makes it one of the best electric cars on the market. For some buyers, that will be far more important than value for money.
