Ford CEO Jim Farley has said he wants the company to become the “Porsche of off-road,” and if a new report is accurate, Ford could be preparing one of its wildest interpretations of that idea yet. Automotive News (subscription required) reports that the Blue Oval is working on an off-road-ready Mustang Baja, taking the Mustang name into territory we’ve never seen it roam before.
According to the report, Ford has gone as far as showing dealers “an off-road Mustang called Baja.” There is no firm timeline for when, or if it would reach production, but the idea potentially represents another major expansion of the Mustang family beyond street-based models such as the new 795-hp Mustang Dark Horse SC that’s arriving in dealerships soon.
The idea of an off-road Mustang isn’t entirely new. Automotive News has previously reported that Farley wants to expand the Mustang stable, and rumors of a lifted, all-terrain version have circulated for years, with comparisons naturally being drawn to cars such as the Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato. Ford itself has been close in that territory with the Mustang Mach-E Rally (pictured above and below), though the Baja would presumably be an internal-combustion-powered variant of the muscle car. Last year, we reported that Ford was working on an off-road supercar.
Ford has already started to stretch the definition of what a Mustang can be, with the Mustang Mach-E being the biggest departure, taking a name associated with two-door muscle cars and slapping it on a four-door, electric-powered SUV. At the opposite end of the spectrum sits the Mustang GTD, a track-focused, 815-hp monster designed to run around the best circuits in the world. And we’ve just shown you what we believe to be a four-door Mustang sedan that’s also reportedly in the works.
A Mustang Baja would push the name in yet another direction. Instead of chasing lap times on pavement, an off-road version could trade low-profile tires and a low ride height for more ground clearance, all-terrain rubber, and a suspension designed to soak up rough terrain. Exactly what Ford has planned remains unclear, but combining Mustang power with some of the company’s considerable off-road know-how could make for one seriously entertaining machine.
Then there’s Ford’s broader off-road push. The Raptor name has expanded from the F-150 to the Bronco and Ranger, giving the company plenty of experience building vehicles designed to go fast when the pavement ends. Ford has also become increasingly involved in off-road motorsports, including competing at the Dakar Rally, further strengthening that side of its performance identity.
That makes a Mustang Baja considerably less far-fetched than it might have sounded a few years ago. The Raptor badge already owns the high-performance truck and SUV side of Ford’s off-road portfolio. A Mustang could bring something entirely different—a lower, lighter, more sports-car-like approach to going fast in the dirt.
There are still plenty of unanswered questions, including what powertrain it would use, and just how serious its off-road hardware would be. But given that Ford has reportedly shown the Baja to dealers, there’s reason to believe the Mustang could eventually leave the pavement behind.
