Ford patents EV four-wheel drive burnouts

Ford has filed a patent application for an electric car burnout mode that allows electric vehicles to smoke their front tires, rear tires, or all four.

First spotted by CarBuzz, a Ford filing for a “power mode for electrified vehicles with intentional wheel spin for tire heating” was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on March 2, after originally being filed on August 30 had been submitted in 2021.

Ford EV burnout mode patent image

In the filing, Ford discusses braking one axle while energizing another to spin the tires to “provide detachment and associated heating or smoking of the tires to improve traction and provide a visual indication of performance.” “. In other words, a burnout.

Using the brakes to hold a car in place while the wheels are spinning sounds similar to the line-lock feature previously seen on the Ford Mustang, but applied to four-wheel drive electric vehicles with motors that do both drive axles. This means that the burnout mode can be used with both the front wheels and the rear wheels. Accompanying sketches show plumes of smoke rolling off each wheelset. The car pictured is a Ford Mustang Mach-E, but that doesn’t mean this feature is intended for this model as Ford hasn’t confirmed the burnout mode for production.

Ford EV burnout mode patent image

The motion also mentions “a sequential maneuver that spins the first axle tires, followed by the second axle tires,” potentially allowing for four-wheel drive burnouts. According to the application, this would be activated by “specific actuation of the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal”.

Ford has tried to demonstrate the Hoon potential of electric vehicles with the Mustang Mach-E 1400, which spins all four tires easily thanks to seven 1,400 hp engines. Such a powertrain is unlikely to end up in a road car, but this burnout mode seems like a more plausible way to increase the fun factor of electric vehicles that customers can actually buy.