A new patent application filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office could provide some insight into what’s in store for the Ford Mustang Hybrid.

The patent application, which was filed by Ford way back in July of 2017 but only published this week, is described as being for a “twin motor drive system for hybrid vehicle.” This drivetrain setup would comprise a longitudinally mounted engine that sends power to the rear wheels, along with an electric motor mounted on each of the front wheels. A summary of the patent located on the first page reads:

“Methods and systems are provided for a hybrid electric vehicle including a front-wheel drive system and a rear-wheel drive system. In one example, the rear-wheel drive system includes an internal combustion engine configured to drive rear wheels of the vehicle, and the front wheel drive system includes a first electric motor and a second electric motor mounted directly to opposing sides of the engine. The first electric motor is coupled to a first reduction gearbox to drive a first front wheel of the vehicle, and the second electric motor is coupled to a second reduction gearbox to drive a second front wheel of the vehicle.”

The patent indicates the internal combustion engine could be any sort of engine, so long as it is mounted longitudinally, although the example drawings use a V8. This is interesting when you consider that Ford may have quietly alluded to a V8-powered Mustang Hybrid with its ‘The Future is Built’ ad, which showed a futuristic-looking mystery vehicle with a Mustang-esque front end and a V8 engine under the hood. When we asked Ford North American production communications boss Mike Levine for a comment on what the vehicle may be over Twitter, he told us to stay posted.

“It’s a glimpse of the future,” he said in a Tweet. “We are excited to show you more in the future. Stay tuned.”

Ford previously said the Mustang hybrid would “deliver V8 power and even more low-end torque.” We took that to mean that it would deliver power similar to V8 and even more low-end torque whilst using a downsized engine, but maybe we just interpreted it wrong. With that statement, Ford may have laid it right out for us that the Mustang Hybrid will have a V8.

That’s what we’re choosing to believe, at least. If we have to a hybridized Mustang, we’d rather it retain its legendary 5.0-liter Coyote V8.

With additional reporting by Dennis Chung

a version of this article first appeared on AutoGuide

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