The year 2026 will mark the start of a collaboration between Ford and Red Bull Powertrains, giving birth to Red Bull Ford. Starting this year, the companies are working together in designing a power unit that adheres to the new technical regulations set to take effect. The unit will consist of a 350-kilowatt electric motor and be capable of using eco-friendly fuels.
Ford will lend its technical know-how in areas such as combustion engines, battery cells, electric motor tech, control software for the power unit, and analytics to aid Red Bull Powertrains in the development process.
But the Red Bull Ford partnership doesn’t end there. Ford CEO Jim Farley told MotorTrend in an interview that the Blue Oval is also working on an electric vehicle with the 2022 F1 World Constructors' champion.
Gallery: Red Bull Ford Powertrains
When asked by MotorTrend about Ford's interest in Formula 1, Farley said:
I was in a recent review with probably our most strategically important EV, and I turned to my skunkworks team that are developing this in secret, and I asked, 'Hey, who's doing the aero on this?' And he turns to me and says, 'Oh, they're from Red Bull. Formula One.'
Of course, that answer was open to interpretation. A "strategically important EV" could mean many things – like maybe a brand-new model, a new concept, or even an EV performance demonstrator.
That last one was already teased by Ford in an infographic that came with the Red Bull Ford press release. It's assumed to be a high-performance Ford F-150 Lightning, given that it's classified under EVs and it will come in the form of a pickup truck.
Whether we're just waiting for a high-powered electric truck or a more exciting EV with F1-developed aero bits, that's still a mystery at this point. All we know is that we're waiting for exciting things to come to fruition based on the newly formed Red Bull Ford partnership.
