Ford will launch an electric Mustang in 2020, taking on Tesla

An old-fashioned Detroit muscle car is about to receive an electric boost as the world’s car makers play catch-up with Elon Musk.

Ford is readying a Mustang-inspired, muscled-up electric SUV to take on Tesla, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Ford has confirmed the SUV with Mustang genes will arrive in 2020 and travel up to 600km between charges.

The latest snippet of information about one of the mostly hotly-anticipated Fords in years came out at a “Go Electric” event in Amsterdam, which also brought some other surprises.

In revealing the new Kuga — known in Australia as Escape — Ford confirmed the mid-sized SUV would have a plug-in hybrid option, allowing electric-only driving of up to 50km.

Ford is readying an electric SUV based on Mustang underpinnings. Picture: Supplied.

Plus, the Focus small car will soon be available with a hybrid system, and in 2021 delivery drivers and couriers will be able to get around in an all-electric version of the Transit van.

But the big news was its first all-electric SUV — with genes from the legendary Mustang sports car — will have a driving range between charges that matches a petrol-powered car.

“Ford’s Mustang-inspired all-electric performance SUV will arrive in 2020, with a pure-electric driving range of 600km … calculated using the World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) and fast-charging capability,” Ford said in a statement.

That 600km range is more than the V8-powered Mustang travels today, ensuring would-be owners won’t be put off by range anxiety.

Mustangs with a manual gearbox can theoretically eke 469km from the 61-litre tank, while those in an automatic can go 480km.

That’s assuming you can match the 13.0 litres per 100km and 12.7L/100km fuel consumption claims, which were calculated off a government-stipulated laboratory test that is notoriously difficult to achieve in the real world.

Ford will also release a plug-in hybrid version of the Escape in Australia. Picture: Thomas Wielecki.

In other words, most Mustang drivers are using plenty more than that.

Which makes the 600km electric figure more impressive, especially as Ford stated that figure was calculated using the latest WLTP test, which more closely mimics real world driving.

That 600km range also means the electric Mustang SUV will travel further than any current electric.

The Tesla Model S with the largest 100kWh battery falls just short, at 594km.

The upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQC gives up after 450km and the Audi e-Tron at 400km, while Hyundai’s new Kona Electric tops out at 449km.

Mercedes-Benz is about to release its first electric SUV, the EQC. Picture: Supplied.

While the electric range is impressive, there are more questions than answers with the electric “Mustang”.

What will it look like? Will it be faster than the V8? How will it sound? What will it share with the real Mustang?

All should be revealed in the coming months.