“Ford has created a premium fragrance for those who crave the performance of the new all-electric Mustang Mach-E GT yet still hold a fondness for the evocative smells of traditional petrol cars.
In a Ford-commissioned survey, one in five drivers said the smell of petrol is what they’d miss most when swapping to an electric vehicle, with almost 70 percent claiming they would miss the smell of petrol to some degree. Petrol also ranked as a more popular scent than both wine and cheese, and almost identically to the smell of new books.
The new scent is designed to help usher these drivers into the future of driving through their sense of smell. Rather than just smelling like petrol though, Mach-Eau is designed to please the nose of any wearer; a high-end fragrance that fuses smoky accords, aspects of rubber and even an ‘animal’ element to give a nod to the Mustang heritage.
Ford revealed the fragrance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, an annual event that attracts petrolheads from across the globe. The scent, which is not available to buy, is part of Ford’s ongoing mission to help dispel myths around electric cars and convince traditional car enthusiasts of the potential of electric vehicles.
After all, almost a quarter (24 percent) of survey respondents claimed they would miss the performance of petrol cars if they made the swap, yet the Mach-E GT’s 860Nm all-electric powertrain supports a new level of Ford fun-to-drive experience with a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of just 3.7 seconds. Figures that no performance car fan should turn their nose up at.
How the fragrance was created
The Mach-Eau fragrance was created by renowned fragrance consultancy, Olfiction, with ingredients that each add a specific element of the scent’s story. Pia Long, an Associate Perfumer in the British Society of Perfumers, who has worked creating fragrances for some of the most famous perfume brands was instrumental in its inception.
Her starting point was to look into the chemicals that are emitted from car interiors, engines and petrol. This included benzaldehyde, which is an almond-like scent given off by car interiors, and para-cresol which is key in creating the rubbery scent of tyres. These were blended with ingredients like blue ginger, lavender, geranium and sandalwood that added metallic, smoky and further rubbery accents. An ‘animal’ element was also included, giving an impression of horses to underline the Mustang heritage.
